Big Sis' Love
by heavenshockinghollowflash
Summary: Chifuyu Orimura has feelings for her brother, she tries to ignore them at first, but eventually she gives in. Watch as she tries to bring them together.
1. Chapter 1

***I don't own Infinite Stratos***

For those that knew her, Chifuyu Orimura was a shrewd and proper woman. Many that had made her acquaintance had only ever seen her face in that serious glare that conveyed only a strict business mentality. So it would come as a suprise to many the state that she was in now. Panting heavily, the busty woman let out muffled moan every few seconds. Pushing her panties to the side hastily, she let out a whimper as she inserted her index finger into her quickly moistening pussy. Yes, Chifuyu Orimura was masturbating. Those previously mentioned people would probably be scandalized as it is, but that was nothing to say of the piece of clothing pressed tightly to Chifuyu's face. A pair of underwear was held tightly to her nose as she took deep breaths, savoring the scent. Now you may ask: "who does that pair of underwear belong to?", and I'll tell you. The underwear that Chifuyu was using to masturbate with belongs to her younger brother, Ichika Orimura. Chifuyu has deep feelings for her brother, feelings that she initially didn't know she had, but now realized she did. She tried to forget them, but they proved to be to much. The scene we are witnessing now is the culmination of repressed feelings finally letting themselves out.

***With Chifuyu***

Chifuyu let out a muffled moan as she vigorously rubbed and fingered her soaking quim. Her mind was only focused on the singular objective of reaching her orgasm, and was currently focused on supplying her with fantasies starring the object of her affections. The usual protests her mind fired at her when she thought of him as such were unusually silent as she reached closer and closer to the finish line. As she neared the finish, she began to softly chant his name.

"Ichika, Ichika, Ichika, Ichika!"

Her soft chants filled the room as she continued to rub her soaking pussy. Agonizingly close, Chifuyu increased her pace and began to use her other hand to fondle her breasts. Using her middle finger to finger herself, with the added stimulation of her palm rubbing her clitoris. Breathing heavily, and still chanting, Chifuyu stopped trying to hold her voice in. Her chant growing louder and louder, Chifuyu finally reached her limit when she tweaked her nipple. "ICHIKKKKAAAAAAA!", she screamed as her pussy convulsed around her fingers. As her orgasm died down, Chifuyu closed her eyes and rested her arm across her forehead as she panted heavily. As she waited for her breathing to regulate, Chifuyu finally allowed the guilt to hit her. She knew it was wrong of her to feel this way for her brother, but she just couldn't stop from loving him. How could she when he was so kind and loving towards her? The first time she had noticed that something had changed between them had been when he had injured himself a while back. While she had acted stern and uncaring as she scolded him, he had merely given her his trademarked smile and had said, "I'm sorry for worrying you Chifuyu-nee, but it makes me happy that you care."

She still remembered the way her cheeks had heated up as she had struggled to come up with a response. Eventually she had settled on conking him over the head with her rule book(although lightly) and had told him not to say such ridiculous things, but her bright red cheeks must have betrayed her as he had just given her a knowing smile. As time went on, she found her self reacting similarly when he acted overly affectionate with her. She remembered that while before she had tried to prevent him from saying such things, she had eventually come to look foward to when Ichika would express his affection for her. His praises would fill her with pride, and his compliments would leave her feeling embarrassed but pleased. And then there was the times would she would realize how much he was on her mind. Whenever she would walk through town she found herself thinking things like "That man looks like Ichika", or "This sweater would look good on Ichika". Thinking of him would always fill her with a sense of contentment and warmth. She would find herself absent-mindedly comparing other men to him, with the contenders often losing. Things like this had her questioning just how she felt about him. His heartfelt compliments filled her with warmth, and any amount of time spent with him made her feel almost deliriously happy. After weeks of feeling this way, she had finally come to the conclusion that she had feelings for her younger brother. Upon this realization, she had initially been filled with joy, but then the reality had been set upon her. "Siblings can't be together, it's wrong!" her mind had argued, and she had accepted it. She had immediately given up on any chance of her and Ichika ever being together, and as a result, had fallen into a depression. Unfortunately(or fortunately, depending on who you ask), this had attracted the attention of the very man who had caused the storm of emotions that afflicted her.

She smiled warmly as she thought about Ichika trying to cheer her up. For a time she had reverted back to how she usually acted around him. She would regard him with a cold glare that conveyed no emotion, and would scold him harshly when he would screw up. While at night she would lay in bed feeling sorry for herself and had cried herself to sleep numerous times. She couldn't believe how much the thought of not being with Ichika caused her heart to ache. Even if she had decided to close her self off from him, he had almost redoubled his efforts to make her happy. Despite her cold attitude, she couldn't stop her face from heating up when he favored her with a smile, or still the fluttering of her heart when he would shower her in compliments and praise with that adoring look on his face. It all eventually became to much. Which led her to her current situation. Blushing as she stared at her hand that was coated in her essence, Chifuyu decided that she had better clean up before she went to bed. Glad that Ichika was staying at a friends house, Chifuyu entered the bathroom wearing nothing but one of Ichika's shirts and a pair of panties. She blushed then frowned when she realized that she would need to get rid of them as they were still soaked with her arousal. Pulling them and her shirt off, Chifuyu hopped in the shower. Letting out a small yelp when the water proved to be much less warmer than desirable, she eventually let out a contented groan as the water quickly heated up to a comfortable level. As she ran soap over her body, she wondered to herself if Ichika would find her body desirable. She decided that he would, if the way he had stared at her in her swimsuit had been any indication. Running her hands through her hair, Chifuyu closed her eyes and began to let her mind wander to less than innocent territory.

***Chifuyu's Fantasy***

"Ichika!", Chifuyu moaned as her pressed into her from behind, pinning her between himself and the wall. He began to run his hands up her sides, causing her to writhe in his hold.

"Wha-What are you doing?", she questioned in a harsh tone, but inwardly she was trying not to think about how good Ichika's hands were making her feel.

"I want you Chifuyu-nee.", he breathed hotly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. At the same time his hands completed their journey and we're now cupping her breasts over her clothes. She let out a soft moan when he began to rub and fondle them. Despite the pleasure she felt, she tried to fight back and convince him to stop.

"But we're brother and sister", she pleaded "This is wrong."

"You're not being honest Chifuyu-nee" he had responded, and she nearly let out a shriek when she felt his other hand cup her moistening pussy. She began to reprimand him, but it was cut off by a guttural moan as he began to rub her pussy through the damp material of her panties.

"This place is being much more honest Chifuyu-nee." He said, never stopping in his rubbing.

Chifuyu could only squirm and moan in his grasp, eyes closed as she let her self get lost in the pleasure. Chifuyu let out a gasp in her fantasy as well as the real world as simultaneously Ichika and herself inserted a finger into her now soaking vagina.

"I-Ichika", she moaned. "St-stop th-that, your d-driving me crazy"

Ichika only grinned.

"But Chifuyu-nee, I stopped moving a long time ago, it's you whose moving."

Opening her eyes in shock she looked down at the junction of her legs and realized that Ichika was telling the truth. She was rocking her hips into his hand trying to get as much contact with him as she could. Looking over her shoulder, she sent Ichika a look that she was sure was filled with a burning lust. Refusing to be idle anymore, Chifuyu leaned backwards into her brothers chest and continued to rock herself against his hand. Reaching down with her own hand, she placed it over his and applied more pressure. Moaning at the stimulation, she used her other hand to wrap around Ichika's head as she leaned up to kiss him. She moaned as her breath was stolen by the kiss. Ichika decided that he wasn't going to be idle any longer either and he began to increase the pace of his rubbing. As she moaned into his mouth, Chifuyu's eyes shot open when Ichika took the opportunity to invade her mouth with his tongue. However her eyes soon became hooded and glazed over as his tongue began to wrestle with hers. Unfortunately, the need to breathe soon became unbearable and they broke apart with a gasp. Feeling the strength in her legs leaving her, Chifuyu slumped over in Ichika's arms panting and moaning heavily.

"Ichika please", she pleaded "I'm so close."

Grasping under her chin and turning her head so they could see eachother, Ichika kissed her greedily before pulling back.

"Tell me what you want Chifuyu-nee."

Chifuyu blushed and looked away demurely.

"Ichika, please don't make me."

"But I want to hear your beautiful voice." He responded and began to rub her snatch even harder than before. Moaning and groaning in response Chifuyu dropped her protests and began to give him what he wanted.

"I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum! Ichika please make me cum!" She screamed loudly.

"Well said nee-chan, it would be cruel of me to deny your request." With a pleased grin, Ichika once again claimed her lips before he began focusing on her clit. Chifuyu's eyes shot wide open as he pinched her clit between his finger and his thumb as he tweaked it. She let out a scream that was quickly muffled by Ichika's lips as she reached her climax. At the same time in the real world, Chifuyu silenced her scream by biting her knuckle. Panting heavily, Chifuyu shivered as she realized that at some point during her fantasy the water of her shower had turned cold. Quickly getting out, Chifuyu dried her self off and slipped on a fresh pair of panties. Deciding to forego a top, she quickly hopped in bed. Still coursing with pleasure from her quick shower tryst, she had only on thought before she finally dozed off:Ichika will be mine.

**Hello, ****_heavenshockinghollowflash here. This is my first fan fic. I've always been a fan of IchikaXChifuyu but there aren't many fics with them in it. What better way to fix that than to write my own right? Sorry I don't have much to say, but I hope you enjoy my first fic. Don't be too harsh. Constructive criticism is encouraged. Thanks._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello all and welcome back to "Big Sis' Love". I must say I was pleasantly suprised by the amount of people that actually not only gave my story the time of day, but even went as far as to follow and favorite both myself and my fic. Really thanks guys, it means a lot. Onto the next order of business, at the bottom of chapter one I stated that constructive criticism was encouraged, and a handful of you obliged my not so subtle request. So now I'll hopefully be able to answer the concerns that a few of you had.**_

_**Domis Basool says: "You're current portrayal of Chifuyu and her hidden feelings for Ichika for this chapter is okay, just don't overdo how how horny she is about him. Balance her harsh strict facade with an inner softness that only Ichika can detect or when they are alone. I also ship Chifuyu x Ichika along with Charlotte x ichika. But I am looking foward to the next chapter in this story. Good luck."**_

**_Me: On the topic of Chifuyu's horniness (is that a word?), I mentioned at the start of the first chapter that her horniness was a product of her repressed feelings finally coming to the surface. While I'll admit I got carried away with her lime scene, I feel that I didn't go to "over the top". No need to worry though, as chapter 2 contains no such scenes. Chapter 1 was more of a layout for the story. On the topic of Chifuyu's personality, I hope this chapter pleases you as it features the softer Chifuyu when she is around Ichika. On the topic of ships, I also ship Charlotte x ichika as I feel out of all the girls she is the most deserving(aside from Chifuyu of course). But I also have a soft spot for Laura because she's so adorable. The only other girl that I like to pair with Ichika is tatenashi. Hope you enjoy chapter 2_**

**_I'm here present says: "Another one joins the wincest club XD. Nice ecchi and portrayal of Chifuyu btw."_**

**_Me: Wincest is the best, put your sister to the test XD. Thabo you for your compliments, it means a lot as I'm not very confident in my writing ability. Chifuyu is one of the hottest anime characters of all time, so I hope I did her justice._**

**_Anonymous says: "You've got talent as a lemon writer, but is it lemons you want to write or romance? Anyways, the only criticism I can think of right now is that you should right a bit more about the small stuff. Not a lot, mind you, just give a few more details about how, now, and then."_**

**_Me: Like I said to Domis, the first chapter of this story serves as a general layout so you know what to expect. This second chapter includes what I hope is a fair bit of romance and doesn't involve a lemon at all. Thanks for your compliment on my lemon by the way, I mostly picked up how to write good lemons from the Naruto lemon fic "Ero-ninja" by TheLemonSage. If you're interested in checking it out, you can find the most up-to-date version on ficwad dot com. Currently there are 68 chapters filled with lemony goodness. While the fic is on fanfiction dot net, I believe he(or she) has only uploaded less than 20 chapters._**

***Chifuyu's POV***

Chifuyu woke with a cute yawn as she stretched her arms. Getting up, she scratched her butt before making her way to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she brushed her teeth while half-asleep, and slowly made her way down the stairs. Entering the kitchen, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and began to eat. Still half-asleep, she didn't hear the sound of the front door opening and closing.

***Ichika's POV***

Ichika let out a tired yawn as he entered the house. He had decided to spend the night at his buddy Dan Gotanda's house in order to catch up. After all, he couldn't exactly spend much time with friends what with being the only male IS pilot on the planet. Wondering if his sister was up yet, he made his way upstairs and knocked on her door. Getting no response, he shrugged before he made his way back down. Entering the kitchen, he could see that his sister was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, back facing towards him. Really though, all he could see was her unruly mop of black hair as the chair obscured the rest of her from his gaze.

"Morning Chifuyu-nee." He stated cheerfully, genuinely happy to see his sister. She didn't respond, and he began to wonder why. So he made his way around the table to greet her directly. The sight that greeted him was one that he would remember for nights to come. Her eyes were closed as she lazily guided the spoon to her mouth, often times missing only to try again. However, that wasn't what had attracted his attention. No, that prize went to the twin globes on her chest. Blushing heavily and pinching his nose to prevent the nose bleed that he was positive was coming, he let out a startled gasp. Unfortunately, this had the effect of waking up Chifuyu from her drowsy stupor. Freezing in place, she first looked up to see Ichika standing in front of her with a bright red face as he clamped his hand over his nose. Concerned, she started to ask him what the problem was, but stopped when she realized how cold it was. Shivering, she began to hug herself in an attempt to get warm. However, this had two affects. One, hugging her self had caused her to squish her breasts together, causing Ichika's face to grow redder and apply his other hand to stem the flow of blood threatening to rocket out of his nose. The second one, and the most unfortunate, was that Chifuyu finally realized that she wasn't wearing a top. Upon this realization, Chifuyu quickly covered herself(although all she really succeeded in doing was showing Ichika her cleavage), and let out an uncharacteristic, girly scream. Thouroughly embarrassed, Chifuyu quickly turned heel and ran upstairs. Ichika weakly extended a hand in an attempt to apologize, but she was gone before he could even pronounce the first syllable. Sighing, he made his way to the downstairs bathroom and cleaned his hand of the blood that he had successfully blocked. After cleaning himself off, Ichika made his way to the living room, where he slumped down into the couch. Leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling, Ichika let out another sigh as he began to think of ways to get out of his current predicament.

***Chifuyu's POV***

Upstairs, Chifuyu sat on her bed with her head in her hands feeling mortified. It was embarrassing enough that Ichika had seen her boobs (although a part of her was pleased at his reaction), but she just had to let out that girly scream before running away like a frightened school girl. Standing up, and making her way to her drawers, Chifuyu quickly put on a shirt and a pair of sweat pants. School didn't start till another 2 hours, so she was going to make use of that time to clear things up with Ichika. Steeling herself, she made her way downstairs. Not seeing him in the kitchen, she feared he had decided to cut his losses and run, but she relaxed as she spotted him in the living room. Clearing her throat, Chifuyu made an attempt to get his attention.

"Ichika", she said.

Ichika's eyes widened and he quickly shot to his feet spouting apology after apology. Holding up her hand to stop him, she decided to let him off the hook.

"It's okay Ichika. It's my fault that I didn't realize I wasn't wearing anything."

"But Chifuyu-nee-", he began, but was cut off as she once again held up her hand.

"Just drop it Ichika, it wasn't that big of a deal. I'm your sister right? So something like seeing my chest doesn't mean anything."

He let out a sigh, but conceded the point. Hoping to change the subject, Chifuyu began to speak.

"So when did you get back? Its pretty early", she said, pointing at the clock for emphasis.

"Oh just a couple minutes ago, I decided to leave early. Ran was being pushy again." He responded. Feeling her jealousy spiking, Chifuyu felt her eyebrows twitch as she began to grill him for information.

"Oh? What do you mean 'being pushy'?"

Not noticing her deteriorating mood, Ichika responded.

"Oh you know, always hugging me, sitting too close to me, and she even tried to sneak into my bed. It's like she has a crush on me or something." He said obliviously. However, Chifuyu felt her ire deflate upon hearing that, and decided she couldn't fault the girl for resorting to desperate measures to make her interest known. She was well aware that Ichika was rather dense. Despite that, her current line of thought was forgotten upon Ichika's next statement.

"Besides, I'd rather hang out with you then Dan and Ran." Feeling her cheeks heating up, she decided to get a little pay back.

"Are you sure you didn't just want to peek at my breasts?" She said teasingly. Predictably, Ichika's face turned bright red as he gave her a scandalized look.

"Ch-Chifuyu-nee!" He shouted.

Laughing evilly to herself, she began to slowly lift her shirt.

"It's okay Ichika. You're a growing boy, it's only natural that you would want to peek. You're just lucky to have such an understanding sister."

Shocked into silence, Ichika could only watch as his sister lifted her shirt agonizingly slow. As she revealed more and more skin to his hungry gaze, he was suprised once again as instead of the creamy skin of her breasts, all he got was a plain white bra. Inwardly dissapointed, Ichika went to complain about her teasing him, but it died in his throat as he looked at her face. As he watched, he realized that while she was focused on him, she wasn't *really* focused on him. What that means is that she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying or feeling, instead she seemed to be searching for something. Guessing she must have found it as she let out a pleased grin, he once again attempted to complain but once again was cut off. Chifuyu had begun to laugh. Doubling over, she pointed at him and laughed harder. After a few minutes of this, her laughter eventually began to die down to soft chuckles as she struggled to get air into her lungs.

"You-haha-you should of seen your face.", wiping away a tear, she straightened up as her laughter finally died down. Embarrassed, Ichika only responded with an "Oh ha-ha, laugh it up".

"Oh, lighten up Ichika, it's not everyday that a beautiful woman offers to show you her breasts" She joked. However, Ichika just turned around.

"I'm gonna go get ready for school."

Panicking, Chifuyu wrapped her arms around him in a hug from behind.

"I'm sorry Ichika, it was just a joke. Please don't be angry with me." She pleaded with a hint of desperation.

Despite his previous indignation, hearing her speak to him so vulnerably made his embarrassment disappear. Sighing once again, Ichika unwrapped himself from her arms, something that made her feel worse as she thought he was rejecting her apology. However, her fears were put to rest as he wrapped her up in his own hug. Feeling warm and loved, Chifuyu let out a contented sigh as she squeezed her arms tighter around him.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you Ichika. I was only try to have some fun with you." Trying to ignore the blush the unintentional double meaning brought to his face, he non the less responded.

"It's okay Chifuyu-nee. I know you didn't mean to, but it's just..." he trailed off as he struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer.

"Just don't tease me like that please."

Nodding, Chifuyu promised that she wouldn' her a smile that made her heart race, Ichika spoke up once more.

"As much as I enjoy holding you Chifuyu-nee, I do really need to get ready."

To his suprise, she began to furiously shake her head.

"N-no! Please Ichika, hold me just a little bit longer.", she desperately pleaded. Ichika could only stare at her in shock, partly due to her actions, and partly due to him realizing just how adorable his big sister actually was. Giving her a smile that made her hide her face in his chest to avoid further embarassment, Ichika non the less complied with her request. Pulling her closer to him, Ichika rested his chin atop her head and began to rock side to side with her in his arms. They stayed like that for for a time, gently rocking back and forth, enjoying one another's presence. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay like that forever, so Ichika began to loosen his hold on her. Pulling back in response, Chifuyu looked up at his face and nearly gave in to the almost unbearable urge to kiss him and never let go. However, she decided that wasn't they way to go about making her feelings known so settled for leaning up and leaving a soft peck on his cheek. Both now blushing in embarrassment of the tender action, they finally disentangled themselves with eachother. Noticing the time, both made their way upstairs to prepare for school. However, just before Ichika entered his room, he was stopped by a soft hand grabbing him around his wrist. Turning to regard her, he was suprised when he was quickly wrapped up in another hug. Much shorter than the first, Chifuyu pulled back and graced him with a smile.

"You know, I don't say this often, but I want you to know that I'm proud to be your sister and that...um...well", Suddenly hit with a fit of nerves, Chifuyu hid her face behind her hands to hide her embarassment. Smiling at the way she was acting today, Ichika strode forward and began to pull her hands away from her blushing face.

"What is it Chifuyu-nee? You can tell me anything you know?" He said soothingly. Face redder than ever, Chifuyu non the less decided that she had better buck up. Gathering her resolve, Chifuyu shouted "I love you!" Before quickly turning heel and retreating to her bedroom, red faced all the while. Shocked speechless once again, Ichika smiled before deciding that today was gonna be a good day.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hello all, and welcome back to "Big Sis' Love". I tried to get this chapter out sooner, but I kinda passed out on the couch after school. I've recently come to the realization that the first 2 chapters of this story were really short, so I tried to make this one longer. I got a few more reviews during the wait, so let's reply._**

**ZenithTempest says: "I've never seen Chifuyu portrayed with so much kawaii, I like it though, keep it up."**

**Me: I feel that Chifuyu has a hidden girly side that she doesn't allow anyone to see. She does have a reputation to uphold after all. For this story, I wanted her to feel as if she could let that side of her out when in the presence of Ichika. Another contributing factor to her embarassment is her unfamiliarity with letting her affections known. Since this chapter takes place in the academy, expect a return of her stern behavior.**

**cra0007 says: "It's so utterly epic someone's doing this again, I'm really getting tired of the recent stuff in the Infinite Stratos fanfiction lately and it's adorable to see Chifuyu acting like this. Very much looking forward to more, wincest for the win!"**

**Me: I know what you mean by being dissapointed in recent fics. It's not only Infinite Stratos that is suffering either. Last year good fics were being released every other day,but now it seems that has slowed down. Naruto fanfiction has slowed to a halt it seems, only a few new fics are posted every couple of weeks. Bleach is plagued by IchigoXGrimmjow fangirls, and im sure the same could be said for many other anime that I haven't watched.**

**Domis Basool says: "Here is the first thing I want to say: "OH MY"(George Takei voice) on that teasing part. And balance between her teasing and romantic feelings side(for ichika) is okay, but this is my opinion, the side that showed how remorseful she was when she thought Ichika was mad at her I think needs a little more holding back in terms of how she reacted(don't make the pleading part too dramatic(not yet that is) as if she got the love of her life so angry that he leaves her). Maybe something like she says sorry with a mild guilty tone(but not the super sorry I am gonna lose you don't leave me). Hey, all in all this chapter is good and I'm looking forward(waiting) to the next chapter. Good luck.**

**Me: I admit Chifuyu's reaction was a bit over the top, but I also believe that it can be justified by saying, here is a woman with no experience in dealing with the opposite gender making awkward advances and getting easily embarassed by his reactions. Chifuyu made an attempt at a joke, it back fired, and she panicked. Added on to the fact that Ichika is a usually laid back individual who doesn't let much get to him, his negative reaction only reinforced Chifuyu's reaction.**

***Totes don't own Infinite Stratos, nor to I intend to***

Ichika decided that today was not a good day. He had arrived in high spirits after the morning spent with his sister, and was fully expecting a fun filled day with his various friends from around the academy. However, that theory was quickly scrapped as since he had arrived every one of the "girls" had given him the cold shoulder. Any attempt on his part to ascertain the reason for the cold indifference he was experiencing was met with a harsh glare and a haughty scoff. After 3 periods of this with no progress, he had given up on trying to understand why he was being treated this way and had decided that if they were going to ignore him then he was going to do the same. Which led him to his current predicament. As he calmly ate his lunch without sparing a glance to any of the various women that populated the academy, he was still very aware of the tension being directed upon him. The 5 girls that he would normally call "friends" glared at him with a scathing gaze that he was sure that if looks could kill there wouldn't even be anything left to recognize him with. The tension wasn't only felt by him however, as the normally lively cafeteria was deathly silent. Calmly sipping at his tea, Ichika counted down to exactly the point he knew he was about to chewed out. 5,4,3,2,1 let it begin.

Apparently his calm indifference had finally caused the most hot headed of the group to finally snap as she said heatedly.

"Where were you yesterday Ichika?", Spitting out his name as if it was a curse, Cecilia Alcott leaned in close enough that if the situation had been different they both would be blushing. As she awaited his response, 3 of the 4 girls remaining decided that now was as good a time as any to lay into Ichika themselves. The last, being the calmest of the group, kept silent as she would wait till Ichika had had a chance to explain himself before she directed her own ire on him.

"Yeah Ichika, where were you? At some floozy's house where she let you feel her up?", Lingyin "Rin" Huang questioned accusingly.

"We came to your house yesterday and your sister said you weren't home. We waited for you to at least call us but you didn't even do that. Too good to hang out with us now Ichika?", Houki Shinonono fired just as accusingly. Before he had a chance to respond, he was cut off by the littlest member of their group.

"As my wife, you have an obligation to see me. I shouldn't have to look for you, you should be looking for me!", Laura Bodewig spat. As they all awaited his response, Ichika pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"You're completely serious right now aren't you?", He questioned in one last hope that this was some dumb joke. Unfortunately for Ichika, the girls didn't even dignify that with a response and if anything, glared harder. Receiving his answer, Ichika once more pinched the bridge of his nose before stating,

"If you really must know, I was staying at a friends house because I haven't had much time to talk to him. He and his little sister are good friends of mine and we wanted to catch up.", He explained.

Unfortunately, as often was the case with poor Ichika, all his words managed to do was incense them even further.

"So you were at some floozy's house!", Rin shouted. "I knew it!"

"So that's it huh Ichika? You find time to hang out with some no name hussy but you can't hang out with us? That's messed up Ichika.", Cecilia stated.

Laura just huffed in indignation before stating;

"My wife shouldn't be out seeing other women."

Houki didn't say anything, but the disproving glare she sent his way was enough. Growing frustrated at the turn the conversation was heading, Ichika took a deep breath to calm himself. Calmly taking a sip of his tea, an action that for one reason or the other pissed off the women surrounding him even more, before stating;

"Frankly, what I do in my free time is none of your concern. Even if I was seeing "some floozy", it still wouldn't be any of your business.", He stated using air quotes for emphasis. The women looked like they were about to tear into him, but he held his hand up and suprisingly they complied.

"However, seeing as how I wasn't seeing a "floozy" as you call it, I don't appreciate you implying that my best friends sister is a whore.", He said heatedly, letting some of the frustration he felt into his voice.

Unfortunately, that was the wrong move. As soon as the words left his mouth, Rin and Cecilia sprang into action. Cecilia summoned her rifle and pointed it at Ichika's head. Simoultaneously, Rin summoned a giant pole-axe. Both women attempted to attack, but the key word is attempted. Faster than she could blink, Cecilia found her rifle torn from her grip. At the same time, Rin found herself similarly disarmed. It was over in the blink of an eye, and the result had everyone's jaw dropping. Standing tall with only the hands of his IS summoned, Ichika affixed both women with a harsh glare. Not that they noticed, Cecilia was too busy nervously staring down the barrel of her own rifle, and Rin's gaze was focused solely on the large poleaxe currently embedded in the ceiling. Both snapped out of their dazes pretty quickly however, as Ichika made his displeasure known.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!", he roared. Both women began sputtering some form of apology after realizing how much hot water they were in, but Ichika was having none of it.

"SHUT UP!", his command left no room for argument as both women quickly complied.

"Now sit down.", He stated in a much calmer voice. When neither women made a move to comply with his request, he proved that he could just as easily raise it again.

"SIT DOWN NOW!", this time both women sat down faster than they had been disarmed. Once their focus was solely on him, Ichika began to speak.

"I'm finished!", He stated. "I'm through with getting in ridiculous arguments with the five of you over trivial bullshit. What do you want from me? I can't spend every second of every day responding to your beck and call. Futhermore, I don't recall signing up to be your whipping boy.", The last part he practically growled out.

"Arguing with me is one thing, but hearing something you don't like doesn't give you the right to lay your hands on me. I tolerated it before because...well um because... I don't even know why. You all seem to think of it as some half-baked comedy routine, but I'm through with it. If you truly were my friends, then I wouldn't have to be having this conversation with you. As it is, that isn't the case. So you can consider what you call friendship, void."

And with that, he strode out of the cafeteria. Once they were certain he was out of ear shot, the cafeteria erupted in conversation about Ichika's meltdown. However, the only ones who were quiet were the 5 girl that Ichika had left behind staring at his back in shock.

*Chifuyu*

Meanwhile Chifuyu Orimura was facing a dilemma of her own. Staring her opponent down with a fierce glare that would have any man shaking in his boots, Chifuyu wondered just how to tackle the problem that she had found her self in. After a few moments of concentration, she allowed a smirk so small to grace her features, that unless you were specifically trained to detect such things (or were Ichika) you never would have noticed it. However, it disappeared a moment later as she realized that she wasn't any closer to solving her dilemma.

'Hmmm', she thought 'What should I eat first?'

Yes, this was the problem that had been plaquing her since lunch had started. Actually, know that she thought about it, this was the problem she faced everytime Ichika made her lunch.

'But it's so hard to choose', she whined childishly in her head. 'It's all so gooooood."

Deciding to just eat everything at once, she picked up the various cuisine with her chopsticks before popping it in her mouth. As her taste buds exploded with flavor she nearly let out a blissful moan, but stopped her self as she remembered the other occupant of the room. Taking a glance at her out of the corner of her eye, Chifuyu once again tried to puzzle the woman out. The woman to her was an enigma. Seemingly meek and extremely shy, she had the habit of transforming into an extremely competent fighting machine in times of crisis. Not only that, she seemed to receive great insight into how to solve a situation that she couldn't directly engage. 'Then', Chifuyu grumbled, a faint blush across the bridge of her nose. 'There's her annoying habit of teasing me about my brother.',She thought to herself. Giving the green haired woman another sideways glance, she decided she had better things to do than wonder about the enigma that was Maya Yamada. 'Like eating Ichika's home made lunch', She thought to her self. She was about to resume eating said lunch, but found herself startled when the door to the shared office suddenly flew open and collided with the wall. So startled was she that she reacted on instinct. Throwing her rulebook as hard as she could at the intruder, she was suprised when it was effortlessly snatched out the air as if it wasn't just thrown with the full force the supposed "strongest woman in the world" could muster. Her suprise only increased when she realized that the person who had just caught what should of been an immediate K.O. was Ichika.

'Ichika caught that?', She thought. She didn't even know what to think. She couldn't believe that Ichika had just caught her hardest throw. She loved her brother, but the man wasn't known for his strength. Apparently, she realized, she wasn't the only one suprised. Ichika looked just as flabbergasted as she was sure she did. He kept looking back and forth between her and the book he was currently holding. After a few seconds of this awkward back and forth, Chifuyu decided to end the monotony.

"Orimura!", She snapped, trying to get his attention. It did the trick as he jumped, startled by the loud reprimand. Remembering why he was here, he made his way over to her desk before stating.

"Chifuyu-nee, I have a request.", Looking down at his hands, he realized he was still holding her rule book so he quickly handed it to her.

"Thank you.", She said, before battering him over the head with it. As he sputtered out protests, she silenced him with a harsh glare before making her displeasure known.

"Now Orimura, I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I expect you to give me the correct answers.", Sweating bullets as he realized his mistakes, he could only meekly nod.

"Good.", she said. "Now first, Orimura, where are we?"

"IS Academy.", He responded

"Good", she said. "Now Orimura, what did I tell you about addressing me with my proper title while at said academy?"

"Always address you as Orimura-sensei."

"Correct again Orimura. Since you apparently seem to know exactly what you did wrong, do tell what made you think that you could kick my door in, not address me with my proper title, and then have the audacity to demand things from me?", She questioned harshly.

Head thoroughly deflated, Ichika let out a sigh and took a deep breath to calm himself lest he snap at her too and get annihilated.

"My apologies Orimura-sensei, something happened and I wasn't thinking right."

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Chifuyu asked. "Oh? Do tell."

"Really I'd rather not talk about right now. It made me really angry and I don't feel like getting into it.",He responded.

Giving him a pointed stare for a few seconds longer, she shrugged but told him, "Fine, but you're telling me later. Now, lets hear your "request"."

Perking up, Ichika stated, "Oh right, I almost forgot. I'd like to be moved to a different room if that's possible Orimura-sensei."

"Why?", She responded immediately. "It has to do with what I was talking about earlier, I already said I'll tell you later.", He answered.

Still curious, but conceding to Ichika's refusal to explain, she told him, "I'm not sure if there's any spare rooms that I can move you to, but I'll let you know if anything comes up."

Favoring her with a smile, Ichika said, "Thank for your help Chifuyu-n- um I mean Orimura-sensei.

Trying not to react to his smile, Chifuyu non the less nodded and returned to her lunch. With his business concluded, Ichika left, needing to return to class as lunch was nearly over. After he was gone, Chifuyu began to think about what could be bothering Ichika and what could make him want to switch rooms. Deciding that she would find out later, she began to think of where she could move Ichika. Not coming up with anything, she decided to turn to her busty colleague who was quietly eating her lunch.

"Yamada-sensei, do you have any idea if there are any spare rooms that a student can move into?", she questioned.

The mousy woman jumped as if startled and let out a high pitched squeak. Realizing who had addressed her, she let an embarassed blush cross her face before inquiring as to what her colleague wanted.

"My apologies Orimura-sensei, could you please repeat that."

Sighing at the woman's ditzy personality, Chifuyu non the less replied,

"I said, do you know if there are any spare rooms that a student could be transferred to?"

The glasses wearing woman's face scrunched up in concentration as she attempted to come up with an answer. After searching through the database that was her brain, and coming up with nothing, she shook her head in the negative and said, "I'm afraid not Orimura-sensei. Most rooms are filled, and those that aren't are under maintenance."

Slightly dissapointed at Ichika's request being denied, she nodded her acknowledgement of the information before returning to her lunch. Or she would have had her colleague not made an inquiry of her own.

"Um, if you don't mind," She said meekly, "could you tell me who it is who wishes to transfer to a new room?"

Chifuyu cursed under he breath at the question, she had been hoping to avoid that line of questioning. Since she couldn't deny the inquiry without looking like an ass, she sighed before begrudgingly answering the question, already knowing what would inevitably happen, " That student would be Orimura, Yamada-sensei. He came to me requesting the transfer.", She said, although might as well have not said anything past Orimura, as she doubted the woman payed attention to much else. Just as she predicted, the normally quiet and demure woman instantly perked up at the mention of Ichika. She expected the woman to start bombarding her with questions about the younger Orimura, but instead she gained an inquisitive expression over her face. After a few second of thinking, the woman suddenly jumped again, shouting, " Aha!". She looked at Chifuyu, who felt oddly uncomfortable under the woman's gaze, before a predatory smile broke out across her face. Knowing what that meant, Chifuyu tensed, as if preparing for some sort of attack. However, she found herself suprised yet again, as instead of the teasing remarks she was expecting, the busty woman instead began to speak calmly.

"You know Orimura-sensei, perhaps Orimura-kun could stay with you? He is your brother after all."

She tensed again, but this time for a completely different reason. So suprised was she by the suggestion, that she ended up letting her guard down.

"With me?", she questioned, more to herself than Yamada. Within seconds, her mind began supplying her with a multitude of different scenarios between her and Ichika sharing a room. Scenarios that were in no way innocent, as her flushed cheeks and the trickle of blood that escaped from her nose made apparent. However, remembering where she was, she quickly snapped out it with a shake of her head before replying with an indignant "That's preposterous!", before finally returning to her lunch.

With her back turned however, she never noticed the smirk on Yamada's face grow wider.

*Later that night*

Ichika lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. Thinking about the events from earlier in the day, he felt his anger spike before it gave way to guilt. He couldn't help but think that he had been too harsh in his dealing with his friends, but he just couldn't sit back and take it anymore. Not to mention, 3 of the 5 hadn't even attempted to attack him. 'This time', his mind fired in retort. 'Even if they hadn't attacked you now, there's no guarantee they wouldn't the next time you made them angry.' Conceding the point, Ichika still felt guilty, so decided that he would let them stew for a few days before attempting to reconcile. He was snapped out of his reverie however, when someone knocked on his door. Getting up and looking through the eye hole to ascertain just who could be visiting him so late at night, he smiled to himself upon the realization that it was his sister. His smile faded slightly as he realized he would have to tell her about the incident at lunch, but he non the less opened the door for her. As the door opened, the both favored each other with a smile before Ichika spoke.

"Hello Orimura-sensei, is there something you need?"

"Oh don't give me that Orimura, you know why I'm here." She said dryly.

Frowning at her behavior, Ichika decided he much preferred the Chifuyu from this morning as opposed to the one he had now. Still, he opened the door wider to allow her entry. Stepping inside, she made herself comfortable on the bed before Ichika asked, "Would you like some tea Orimura-sensei?"

Expecting her to respond in the harsh demeanor of her business facade, he was suprised when she instead dropped her mask in favor of the girl underneath.

"Ichika", she chided, "We can speak normally when we're alone."

Suprised but pleased, he smiled before saying, "I'd like that Chifuyu-nee."

Basking in the feelings the affectionate suffix instilled in her, she returned his smile with her own before saying, "I would like some tea if you don't mind." Nodding, Ichika set about completing his task. Before long, two steaming cups of tea were produced. Handing one to her, he sat down opposite her on the other bed before saying, "So I take it you're curious as to what happened today right?" She nodded in the affirmative, so he continued. "Well after this morning, I was in a really good mood", he stopped however, when Chifuyu flushed in embarassment at being reminded of her actions. Smiling to himself in amusement, he was tempted to tease her but decided to just get on with the story. "Everything started out normal, I greeted the girls I knew, ate breakfast, and was in generally high spirits. But then, first period rolled around. I tried to say say hi to Cecilia and Houki, but both of them ignored me. I tried to figure out what was wrong, but they refused to speak to me. I tried to ask Laura, Char, and Rin what their problem was, but it turned out that they were ignoring me too. It was like this all day until lunch. That was when they finally decided to make their grievances known. They were angry because I wasn't home yesterday, can you believe that?" He questioned her.

Chifuyu was now angry. She had always had a disdain for all of those girls. She had always resented how they treated her brother even before she discovered her own feelings for him. She remembered how she had even attempted to aid them in getting her brother to notice at least one of them(although Chifuyu had suspicions that Ichika already knew the feelings that each girl carried for him.) But now she was regretting that as she realized how entitled they acted around him. With this latest infraction, she knew that they must have crossed some sort of line that had pushed Ichika over the edge. If he was requesting to be changed to a different room, she realized it must have been a big one. This line of thinking had her responding to Ichika's inquiry with a scoff and replying, "Wow, who the hell do they think they are?."

Ichika let out a mirthless chuckle before saying, "I know right, can you believe they actually had the audacity to attack me?"

Eyes widening in suprise before narrowing in anger, Chifuyu felt a deep fury begin to well up within her. Chifuyu was about to angrily retort, but it appeared that Ichika had never meant for her to speak as he continued, "Well I guess you could say they "tried" to attack me."

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Chifuyu said, "Oh? Do tell."

"This time I stopped them. I decided that I was tired of their abuse." Ichika responded, clenching his left hand as he rembered the adrenaline he felt in the situation.

Impressed, Chifuyu said, "How did you do that?"

Grinning as his overconfidence was beginning to show, something that Chifuyu noticed, he boasted, "Rin and Cecilia summoned their IS' weapons in order to attack me, and in response I summoned the hands of mine. Cecilia tried to shoot me with her rifle, but I ripped it out of her hands before she could. Then Rin tried to hit me with her poleaxe, and I slapped it upwards and it..kinda...got stuck in the ceiling." He finished awkwardly as he realized what he had just revealed to his sister. 'Crap' he thought.

Inwardly impressed, Chifuyu smirked as she had accurately predicted that Ichika was about to make a mistake. Commenting on it, she said,

"So you're telling me that not only did three students partially summon their IS' without authorization, but they are directly responsible for damaging academy property. Sorry to say this Ichika, but I'm going to have put you, Huang, and Alcott in detention. The three of you are going to need to figure out how pay for the repairs, and you'll be lucky if you don't get your IS' taken away for treating them like toys."

Groaning, Ichika put his head in his hands and let out a muffled, "Fantastic." Lasping into silence, Ichika held his head in his hands for a few seconds before Chifuyu got up and sat next to him on the bed. Chifuyu put her hand on his shoulder. When he looked down at her, she said, "It's not all that bad Ichika." Giving him a smile, she added, "Besides, I'd really like to hear the rest of your story."

Smiling, he nodded before sitting up. His eyes widened as he took a look at the clock and realized it was 11:30. Pointing it out to Chifuyu, her eyes widened as well before she said, "Wow, I didn't know we had been talking so long."

"Maybe I should just tell you the rest tomorrow, it's getting pretty late, and we've got school tomorrow." Ichika reminded. Chifuyu looked like she was about to agree, but she then appeared to get an idea. Looking up at him and blushing before looking away, she nervously asked him, "You w-wouldnt mind if I stayed here tonight, w-would you?"

Ichika was shocked to say the least. The last time he had slept in the same room with his sister, he had only been a child. But as he looked at his sister as she nervously awaited his response, he decided that he couldn't turn her way. So, dispelling her fear of rejection with a smile, Ichika nodded before saying, "If that's what Chifuyu-nee wants, then I don't mind."

Unable to contain herself, Chifuyu lurched forward and captured Ichika in a tight hug. As he responded to the hug by wrapping his own arms around her, she sighed happily before softly saying, "Thank you."

Both enjoyed the hug for a few seconds longer before breaking apart. Chifuyu sighed at the loss before giving him a happy smile, a prominent blush across the bridge of her nose. For Ichika, it was at this point that he truly realized how beautiful his sister was. Her messy obsidian hair, her deep brown eyes that shone with warmth, and her beautiful smile that seemed reserved solely for him. He felt a rush of warmth and contentment as he returned his sister's smile. However, his smile faded when her face turned even redder before she broke eye contact to stare at her feet. Her smile never faded, but he noticed it was a much more nervous one. Realizing he had been staring, it was his turn to blush as he realized that was the cause of her embarassment. Turning around so he could relieve the tension in the room, he kneeled down and opened his drawer. Rifling around in it for a few seconds, he eventually produced a plain white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

Handing them to her, he said, "Here, you can sleep in these. They might be a little big on you, but it should be fine."

Muttering a thanks, Chifuyu made her way to the bathroom and stepped inside. Closing it behind her, she pressed her back against it before sliding down to the bathroom floor. Placing a hand on her chest in an effort to still her beating heart, Chifuyu sighed happily as she thought of how amazing this night was turning out. While her morning had started on a high note, she had expected the rest of the day to be rather mundane. For once, she was rather glad to have been proven wrong. Humming happily to herself, Chifuyu shook her hair out after freeing it from her hair tie before leaving it on the bathroom sink. (A.N.: The dreaded hair tie invasion begins!) Stripping out of her business attire, Chifuyu quickly got dressed in the nightwear that Ichika had given her. After folding her clothes, Chifuyu stepped up to the bathroom door. Taking a deep breath, Chifuyu took a moment to prepare herself before exiting the bathroom. Seeing Ichika already laying in bed, she blushed prettily when he noticed her and gave her an appraising look. Turning around to hide her burning cheeks, she tried to cover it up by acting like she was just closing the bathroom door. Still not making eye contact, she suprised him by hopping in next to him on the bed. After covering herself in the blankets, she quickly turned on her side facing away from him. She let out a quiet, "Good night.", before falling silent.

Slightly confused at her behavior, Ichika shrugged before reaching over and turning off the small lamp on the table situated between the two beds. After laying in the dark for a few moments, Ichika smiled when Chifuyu turned around and snuggled into his side.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys hollow flash here. Firstly, I'd like to apologize for how long this chapter took to get out. I won't give you any excuses, writers block and laziness make for a deadly combination. Hopefully the next chapter won't take any where near as long as this one to come out. **

*A week later*

Ichika let out a yawn as he awoke, before reaching up and scratching the side of his face. Smacking his lips together, and cringing at the taste of his morning breath, Ichika attempted to get up in order to take care of his morning routine. Key word was attempted.

As he tried to sit up, he was suprised when an unfamiliar weight on his chest prevented him from doing so. Confused, he nearly jumped out of the bed when he noticed a mop of obsidian hair resting on his chest. Wondering who could be in bed with him, Ichika nervously brushed some of the strands of hair out of the mystery persons face. Upon revealing the persons identity, Ichika let out a sigh of relief as the stranger was revealed to be a sleeping Chifuyu. As the memories came back to him, he couldnt help but to smile at the decidedly adorable sight of his normally cold sister drooling on his chest, and Ichika attempted to shuffle out from underneath her. However, he realized he wasnt going anywhere when her nose crinkled cutely in discomfort before she buried her face further into his chest while letting out a funny sounding noise that sounded suspiciously like a drawn out "noooooooo". Sighing in exasperation(though the effect was ruined by the amused smile that was plastered on his face), Ichika decided that there were worse things he could be trapped under.

Since he wasnt going any where anytime soon, Ichika made him self comfortable before wrapping an arm around his snoozing sister and pulling her closer. When his shifting caused Chifuyu to move her head, revealing her face to his gaze once again, Ichika took the opportunity to study her.

He had always thought that his sister was an attractive woman, but right now he was realizing that he hadnt even been close. From her messy obsidian hair that resembled his own, to her sharp facial features, and her outrageous curves that even he had eyed from time to time, Ichika couldnt help but to think that she had to be one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

"She...she's gorgeous." He thought. Eyes widening at the realization, Ichika let a soft smile overtake his features when she let out a soft moan before snuggling deeper into his side. Happy that he was able to see this side of her, Ichika slowly reached up in order to softly stroke her hair. Feeling warm and content, Ichika's smile grew wider when she reacted to him by letting out a contented sigh.

As he watched her sleep, Ichika wondered, not for the first time, just what had instigated such a drastic change in his sister. Whereas before she had been cold and stand offish, now she was cheerful and affectionate. He'd be lying to himself if he said he didnt enjoy the change, but he couldnt help but wonder why. He knew it had something to do with what he said to her in the hospital, as that was when she had first started changing. While she had been clearly affected by his declaration, he didnt believe that the event was solely responsible for her transformation. He had noticed that she had gradually become less harsh as time went on, and had even seemed to enjoy whatever time they would spend together, but she still hadnt been as open with him as she was now. No, that was actually a recent change. He supposed that her change in attitude had to do with his efforts to cheer her up when she had reverted back to her original personality and ended the closeness they had just started to share.

He may be dense, but even he noticed that she wasnt at all happy with pulling away from him. Be it the lingering stares that she gave him when she thought he wasnt looking, or the various times he got the impression that she had been crying, he could tell that she had been miserable. Just as unhappy with her distancing herself, he had taken every opportunity to try and cheer her up. At first she had resisted, and would tell him to mind his own business or to leave her alone and bother someone else. One time, he had even gotten her so worked up that she had lashed out and told him that he was nothing but an annoyance. It had hurt him, but he didnt hold it against her because she had been just as suprised by her outburst as he was. She had realized what she said was wrong and had apologized for it, but if anything, she had distanced her self even more. He had took it as a challenge and had redoubled his efforts to end the depression that had settled over her. For a time his efforts yielded nothing, but eventually, his unwavering determination had begun to put cracks in the walls she had secluded herself behind. She would still scold him and tell him not to say things that would embarass her, but he noticed the discreet glances and hidden smiles she would send his way when she thought he wouldnt see. He guessed at some point she had given in to his efforts as she stopped hiding from him and began to travel the path that led their relationship to where it was now.

He had noticed the change when instead of scolding him, she had begun laughing at his stupid jokes, thanking him for his compliments, and spending more time with him in general. To his suprise, she had even begun to open up to him, and would share with him her insecurities and worries. To him it was like a dream come true, as he had always wished that he could be closer to her, and it seemed like that wish was finally being granted. As time went on, it wasnt uncommon to find the two of them cracking jokes at the others expense, or teasing each other over various things like real siblings should. He had been happy that she had finally let him in, and had finally become the sister he had always hoped for.

Looking down at her as she slept, his smile turned into a frown as he thought about how recently, she had changed once again. That wasnt to say he didnt enjoy the closeness he shared with her now, but even after she had opened up to him, she had never hugged him or told him that she loved him(in fact, he was fairly certain that the morning a week ago had been the first time she had ever said that to him.) No, something else had changed that had caused her to make the leap to the current level of intimacy that they shared now. He still remembered the way she had refused to let go of him, and had pleaded with him to hold her. The old Chifuyu would never have done something like that, and he aimed to find out why she would now.

Ichika was pulled from his musings however, when the topic of his thoughts began to stir. Letting out a tired yawn, Chifuyu sat up and begun to rub her eyes like a toddler. Finding the action adorable, Ichika let an amused smile cross his face as he watched her. Eventually, she soon lay her head back on his chest. Looking up at him with tired eyes, she favored him with a smile before greeting him.

"Good morning." She said from her spot on his chest. Lifting his arm and placing his hand against her cheek, Ichika's smile grew wider when she closed her eyes and nuzzled into it. Returning her greeting, he asked,

"Sleep well?"

"Fantastic." She replied immediately. Giving him a teasing smile, she said, "You make a great pillow, you wouldnt mind if I took you home with me right?"

Although her words caused him to blush, he decided that he wouldnt be outdone, so he said with a wink, "If I get to wake up to Chifuyu-nee again then no, I really wouldnt."

His words causing her to blush prettily and look away with a pleased smile, she punched him lightly on the shoulder before saying, "Idiot, dont say such embarassing things."

Despite her words, she couldnt deny that his admission made her happy. So, reminding herself of the decision she had come to the week before, she decided that now was as good a time as any to see what Ichika thought. Her smile fading, she opened her mouth to speak, but soon came to the realization that putting words to such a request was more daunting than she had expected. She kept attempting to make her request, opening her mouth to speak before quickly closing it, the combination of nervousness and embarassment causing her to falter. Eventually Ichika noticed her predicament, so placing a hand on her shoulder in concern, he asked, "Whats wrong Chifuyu-nee?"

Looking down at him, and noticing the concern and care his eyes held for her, she closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. Opening them, she made sure that they maintained eye contact before asking in a soft tone, "Do you mean it?"

Confused, Ichika raised his eyebrow in curiosity before asking, "What do you mean?"

Reigning in her nerves, she replied, "Did you mean what you said, about coming home with me?"

Wondering where she was going with this, Ichika replied, "Well yeah, but Chifuyu-nee, why are you asking me that?"

Taking another deep breath, she said meekly, "Well, Ive been thinking lately, that...that...um..." trailing off as she couldnt muster up the courage to finish her sentence, she instead settled for looking down at his chest, unable to look him in the eyes.

Seeing her falter causing him to realize that what she had to say was important, Ichika placed both of his hands on her shoulders before saying, "Please tell me Chifuyu-nee. Didnt I say you could tell me anything?"

His words filling her with some much needed encouragement, she let out a sigh before reinitiating eye contact. She was silent for a few moments, but when Ichika squeezed her shoulders and gave her an encouraging smile, she decided that it was now or never. Sitting up so that she was basically straddling him, she smiled down at him before saying, "I was thinking, that if you didnt mind, maybe...maybe you could move in with me?"

Her request the last thing he expected to hear, Ichika recoiled slightly before looking up at her in shock. He was about to instantly deny her request and ask her why she would ask him something like that, but he couldnt help but notice how she would send him hopeful glances before turning away, and how her body would shake periodically in nervous anticipation. Any words on why such a thing couldnt happen dying on his tongue, Ichika still held thoughts about denying her proposal, but thoughts about how great officially having her in his life was turning out to be, had him realizing that he wanted what she was offering. Coming to a decision, he smiled before taking her hands in his.

His happy smile turned into an amused one when she looked at him in suprise and her face turned a dark shade of red. Making sure her attention was on him, he said cheerfully with a smile, "I would love to Chifuyu-nee."

However, it was his turn to blush when she gasped and her face broke out into a bright smile. Squeezing his hands tighter, her voice conveyed how happy she really was when she asked him, "R-really?"

Ichika closed his eyes and nodded, the smile never leaving his face. However, his eyes opened widely in shock when Chifuyu, unable to contain herself, launched forward and captured him in a tight hug. Giving him a peck on the cheek, something that made both of them blush, she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck before saying, "Thank you."

His suprise fading, his smile turned into a genuinely happy one before he wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. Caught up in the moment, he began to rub small circles into her back before saying, "You dont need to thank me Nee-chan, as long as you're happy, then so am I."

Her eyes shot wide open at his admission, before they closed tightly as she struggled to fight back tears. Hugging him tighter, her voice was thick with emotion as she said, "I love you so much Ichika."

Deciding he would never tire of hearing those words come from her, Ichika reached up in order to softly stroke her hair before replying, "I love you too, Nee-chan."

Although his saying so filled her with some measure of happiness, Chifuyu found herself frowning at the declaration. His words were ones that she desperately wanted to hear, but not in the manner he used them in now. No, she longed for the day when she would hear those words and be able to take solace in the fact that he meant it wholeheartedly and completely. For now though, she would just have to take comfort in the fact that it was her that Ichika was holding in his arms. Smile returning at the thought, Chifuyu yawned as she realized that being held by him was proving to be extremely comfortable. That, combined with the heat of his body, and the never ending stroking of her hair, soon had her dozing off.

For Ichika, his smile softened when he heard her breathing even out, signaling that she had fallen asleep. Feeling blessed that she trusted him enough to fall asleep atop of him, he hugged her tighter, but not hard enough to cause her any unwanted discomfort. Looking down at her peacfully sleeping and holding on to him as if her life depended on it, his face took on a determined edge, and he promised to himself, 'I promise that Ill do everything in my power to make you happy Onee-chan. As long as I get to see your smile, any amount of pain would be worth it.'

With that, he decided that since he wasnt going anywhere, he might as well join his sister in the land of dreams. Letting out a tired yawn in approval of the idea, the last thing on his mind before he succumbed to the sandman was his sister's face, set in the smile that he didnt know was reserved solely for him.

*A few hours later*

Ichika awoke with a start as result of the loud banging sound coming from his door. Sitting up with a yawn, he looked around drowsily to find that at some point during their slumber, Chifuyu had rolled off of him and was currently pressed into his side. Shuffling out from under her, he decided he should probably figure out who so urgently needed his presence. Walking up to the door, he opened it and had to hold back a wince when it revealed someone he would rather not speak to. Sighing, he looked up into the angry visage of one Houki Shinonono. They sat there for a time, her angrily glaring at him, and him pointedly staring at her. Eventually, the impromptu stalemate was broken when Ichika, tired of her refusal to speak, said,

"Is there something I can help you with Shinonono-san?"

He felt a little guilty when she winced at how he addressed her, but it was forgotten a moment later when her glare returned and she poked him painfully in the chest with her index finger.

"What the hell are you doing Ichika?", she spat out.

Confused, he gave her a look that conveyed as much before replying, "Um, sleeping?"

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock at his admission before her glare returned a moment later. Gritting her teeth, she said angrily, "Are you stupid or something? In case you havent noticed, you've missed the first three periods of class!"

Eyes widening slightly in suprise, Ichika looked up at the clock above his door to find she was right. Shrugging, he said uncaringly, "Huh, so I have."

Not expecting such a response, her jaw dropped once again. They lapsed into silence after that, her staring at him incredulously with that slackjawed expression on her face. Eventually, Ichika grew tired of it,so after awkwardly scratching his cheek, he said,

"Soooo, if thats all you came here for, then if you'll excuse me, Id rather be in bed."

His words causing her jaw to snap closed, her glare returned tenfold before she pressed her index finger into his chest again.

"You cant just sleep in all day Ichika! Especially when I went through the trouble of looking for you. What am I supposed to tell the others?" She ranted.

Yawning in boredom, Ichika shrugged uncaringly before replying, "Sounds like a personal problem. Now, if thats all you came here for, I would appreciate it if you would leave."

Offended, she scoffed angrily and gave him a disgusted look before stalking off down the hallway. Shrugging at her attitude, Ichika turned around with the intention of closing the door behind him, but his eyes widened and his body went rigid when a feminine voice moaned out his name from within the confines of his dorm. Turning around slowly, he hoped that he was the only one who heard it, but unfortunately that was not the case. Upon turning around, he cringed when he saw that Houki had frozen in place in the hallway. Closing his eyes in defeat, he sighed before thinking to himself, 'Fantastic'.

After making sure she hadnt imagined it, Houki quickly turned around and just as quickly made her way back to him. Leaning in close, she seethed, "Ichika, what the hell was that?"

Growing tired of her attitude, he suprised her by returning her glare and, speaking in low tone, said, "I dont see how thats any of your business."

Her mouth dropped open in shock at his words, but her anger clouded her judgement, and she yelled his name angrily before summoning the katana of her IS. Getting into her battle stance, she swung it at him as hard and as fast as she could. For any normal man, the attack would have killed them before they could blink, but for Ichika, who knew all of her techniques, it was as if her attack was moving in slow motion. Not even bothering to summon a weapon of his own, he suprised her by using the metal bracelet that represented his IS to deflect her attack. Since they were in the enclosed space of his doorway, his parry caused her katana to imbed itself into the doorframe.

Athough the action suprised her, without missing a beat, she quickly summoned her other katana. She smirked when Ichika's eyes widened, as there was no time for him to block her next attack, but it dissapeared and was replaced with a look of suprise when a hand shot out over Ichika's shoulder and grabbed her wrist.

Both teens stood in shocked silence, until Ichika turned around to reveal a very angry looking Chifuyu. However, he was glad that her glare wasnt directed at him, as her ire was fully centered on Houki. For Houki however, she was about ten seconds away from pissing herself. Feeling so very small under the gaze of the most respected woman in the world, she attempted to give some form of apology, but was interrupted when the woman dubbed as the "Instructor" began to speak.

"Shinonono," she started "care to tell me why you have not only violated academy policy by summoning your IS ,even partially, without authorization, but are also irresponsibly wielding it to attack another student?"

Cringing at the eerily calm tone of voice her teacher was using, Houki tried to stammer out a response. Unfortunately for her, no words would come to her. So, unable to find her voice, she settled for staring at her feet. When it became clear that the girl wasnt going to answer, Chifuyu pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance before saying, "I see. In that case, since you have failed to give me a suitable response, Im afraid that Ill have to suspend your right to wield your IS. In the meantime, you are to join Orimura, Alcott, and Huang in the detention unit until I deem it fit to return it to you."

Houki's head shot up as she prepared to protest, but her words died on her tongue when Chifuyu gave her a harsh glare as if daring her to say otherwise. Sighing in defeat, she looked back down at her feet before saying meekly, "Hai, Sensei."

Nodding in satisfaction, Chifuyu held out her hand expectantly. Sighing once again, Houki unwrapped the gold and silver bells that represented her IS from around her wrist before placing them in Chifuyu's hand.

Taking them, Chifuyu nodded before saying, "Now then, you may return to class."

Expecting the girl to obey and immediately take off, Chifuyu found herself suprised when Houki's eyes widened and she seemed to realize something. For Houki, she just now realized that not only had Chifuyu emerged from Ichika's room, but her state of dress wasnt one suitable for a teacher. In fact, her eyes widened further when she recognized the white tshirt and sweat pants the woman was wearing as belonging to Ichika. Her mouth dropping open, her mind began to supply her with indecent theories on why Chifuyu had apparently been sleeping in Ichika's room, as she also noticed the severe case of bedhead and the drowsy expression that the older woman sported.

Fighting down the blush that threatened to appear on her face as a result of her overactive imagination, Houki plastered on an innocent smile before asking in a tone just as innocent,

"Pardon me Sensei, but I was sent here because it was decided that Ichika would be the most likely to know where you were. Am I correct in assuming that you have been here with him?"

Her suspicions only grew when the normally straightlaced woman actually blushed, and shifted uncomfortably before saying, "Y-yes, you would be correct."

Although the smile never left her face, Houki's voice conveyed her increasing anger when, in a less than polite tone, she said tersely, "Why?"

Chifuyu, caught off guard by the unexpected line of questioning, could only look away as she struggled to come up with a suitable answer. Although she could just tell the girl that it wasnt her business, she knew that doing so would only make her more suspicious of the nature of the relationship she shared with Ichika. She was aware that all five girls had somehow misconstrued her warning about gaining her approval to date Ichika into some impromptu competition to gain his attention the fastest, with her as a competitor. She had intended to set them straight, but let it be when she realized that it only served as motivation to make them work harder to get Ichika to notice them. However, now that she actually was a competitor, 'And currently in the lead.' she thought with some satisfacfion, she would need to handle situations like this delicately. Unfortunately, she was having a difficult time coming up with a decent excuse.

Meanwhile, although on the outside Houki appeared calm, within the confines of her mind, Houki was seething with rage.

'That bitch!', she thought. 'She took advantage of Ichika pulling away from us to make her move. I bet she already slept with him!'

As she continued to rant to herself about the indignaties of Chifuyu supposedly sleeping with Ichika, the third member of their little entourage decided to remind them of his presence. Ichika, noticing the small tells that indicated when Houki was about to explode, and the fact that Chifuyu was still having trouble answering Houki's question, spoke up, saying,

"I believe I can answer that question."

He faltered slightly when both women gave him a deadpan stare, but after clearing his throat, said, "I invited Chifuyu-nee over to eat dinner with me last night, and she stayed later than either of us expected. So I offered for her to stay the night."

Houki, not so easily convinced, gave him a suspicious glare before replying, "Then why did both of you not show up for class?"

Taking advantage of his reputation as not exactly the smartest guy, he put on an sheepish smile and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Closing his eyes to complete the effect, he said in a mildly embarassed tone, "Um... I kinda...forgot to set my alarm."

Houki gave him one last suspicious glare, but decided that it was something that Ichika would do, so didnt argue. Still, she found it strange that a person as business oriented as Chifuyu didnt seem too upset that she had apparently missed a quarter of the day. Frowning, she let out a displeased huff and ground out a terse, "Fine." before turning around and making her way down the hall. Once she had finally disappeared around the corner, the two siblings let out a collective sigh of relief before retreating to the dorm room.

Once inside, Chifuyu let her dislike of the girl known when her face twisted into an angry scowl and she said angrily, "Bitch!". Letting out an annoyed huff, she sat down on the bed before crossing her arms over her chest, clearly displeased. Once she had gotten situated, she gave Ichika a pointed glare before saying, "So, care to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

Ichika winced at the obviously angry tone of her voice, but never the less answered, if a bit meekly.

"She said she was looking for me." He said.

Chifuyu rolled her eyes, before she replied, saying, "I know that. I meant why did she attack you?"

Nodding his head in understanding, Ichika replied, "Oh that. Well, I guess you could say I provoked her."

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Chifuyu asked, "Oh? How so?"

"Really I was just being an ass.", he admitted. Continuing, he said, "When she told me that I had missed class, I acted like I didnt care. And then when she heard you say my name in your sleep, I told her that it wasnt any of her business." But as he remembered the way she had lashed out at him, his shoulders tightened and he let out a deep sigh when he said, "I didnt intend for her to attack me, but she did anyway."

Noticing his change in demeanor, Chifuyu's face softened when she heard the obvious hurt in Ichika's voice, so deciding he needed her support, stood before him before placing a hand on his shoulder. Hoping her eyes conveyed her understanding, she gave him a supportive smile when he turned to look at her. Touched by the gesture, he returned her smile with his own, but he wasnt finished, as he said, "But really, Im glad that she did."

Suprised, Chifuyu gave him an inquisitive look before asking, "What do you mean?"

Letting out a meloncholic sigh before answering her, he said, "Because it just proves that I was right to pull away from them. She may not have realized it, but she just proved that any one of them could lash out at any moment. Even Charlotte was prone to attack if I did something that made her angry."

Slumping down in a nearby chair, he let out another sigh before turning to Chifuyu with a sad smile. Taking in her worried expression, his smile turned into a slightly happier one as he was touched by her concern. Letting that thought fill him with warmth, he never the less continued, saying, "It just sucks you know? Even though Im right, I cant deny that we've had some good times together. But despite that, I cant just ignore how they treat me."

His frown returning, he turned to her in order to ask, "What am I supposed to do Chifuyu-nee?"

With the spotlight being put on her, Chifuyu began to put some thought into it. On one hand, she could use this opportunity to influence Ichika into shutting them out of his life for good, clearing the way for her to snag him for herself. Although the idea was tempting, she decided that doing so would be wrong and selfish. Despite the fact that they had clearly crossed a line, they were still his friends. They deserved a second chance to make amends with Ichika. So, even though she was sure she would come to regret it, she sighed before looking to Ichika and saying, "I think you should give them another chance."

To his credit, Ichika didnt recoil in shock or even look very much suprised at all, instead, he merely gave her a cursory glance before asking, "Why?"

Letting out another sigh, as with each word she spoke she felt like she was digging deeper into her own grave, Chifuyu replied, saying, "They're your friends right?" When Ichika nodded, Chifuyu continued, "Dont get me wrong, Im not excusing their actions or saying you're wrong, but I dont think cutting them out of your life was the best idea. They're teenage girls, they dont know whats the right way to go about a relationship, especially with a boy. So instead of dropping them like a rock, you should explain to them what they did wrong, what they need to do to gain your forgiveness, and how they should work on improving their behavior. This way, you can keep on being friends, but without the added stress of trying to figure out which one is going to lash out at you."

Finishing her sentence with a smile, Chifuyu hoped that she had been helpful, as even though she was enjoying the one on one time she had been granted, she didnt enjoy seeing him upset during it.

For Ichika, he was seriously considering her words. Deciding that she was right, he favored her with a grateful smile before saying, "Yeah, you're right. But how am I supposed to talk to them? Houki most likely doesnt want to see me right now, and the others are bound to be upset."

"Just let them sit for now. They can go a few days without you." Chifuyu replied, a hint of jealousy entering her voice.

Noticing it, Ichika couldnt stop himself from letting out a small chuckle, causing her to flush and look away with a his laughter died down and his amusement faded, he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder in gratitude before saying, "Thank you for talking to me Chifuyu-nee. It really helped."

His words causing her previous indignation to dissapear, Chifuyu's face softened and she turned to face him. Reaching up, she placed her hand atop the one he had placed on her shoulder and gave him a small smile. Speaking, she said, "What kind of sister would I be if I let my little brother be miserable? You dont need to thank me Ichika, I know you would have done the same."

Ichika felt suprised when her words filled him with a warmth he couldnt describe. Acting on it , he suprised her by wrapping her up in a hug. She stiffened and her eyes widened at the unexpected contact, but she relaxed a moment later when he said, "Im happy that we can talk like this. These past few days spent with you have been great."

Returning the hug in response, she pulled back slighty in order to look him in the eyes as she said, "I think so too."

With the good feelings that they instilled in one another coursing through them, both siblings couldnt help but be affected by their closeness. As they stared into eachother's eyes , Chifuyu felt her face begin to heat up when Ichika's smile disappeared and his gaze became more intense and focused, staring at her as if he was in a trance. Unable to look away, she felt her breath hitch in her throat when he softly whispered her name and slowly began to lean forward. His actions causing her heart to start beating erratically, she decided not to fight the moment and, after closing her eyes, began to lean forward too. As they drew ever closer, Chifuyu couldnt describe how she felt as she realized what she so desperately wanted was finally within reach. Unfortunately, both siblings eyes shot wide open and they immediately jumped away from eachother with bright red faces when a knock was heard from Ichika's door.

The two stared at the door for a time, but when another, more insistent knock was heard, Ichika broke the silence when he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said, "Um...I should probably go see who that is."

Chifuyu gave him a weak smile and nodded, but he noticed how the smile didnt reach her eyes. Sighing, he slowly made his way to the door, thinking along the way that he had nearly made a huge mistake.

'I cant believe I almost kissed her!' he thought to himself. As he walked,he began to feel a fresh bout of self-loathing as he thought about how he may have nearly ruined his relationship with his sister forever. Despite his thoughts, a part of him couldnt help but to remember how she had made no effort to pull away. However, it was decided that it was something he would have to dwell on later, as a third knock was heard, louder than the first two. Sighing once again, he put on a fake smile, but those that had spent any extended amount of time with him would easily be able to recognize it as such. Opening the door, his eyes widened slightly when it revealed the glasses-wearing Maya Yamada. She jumped upon seeing him, and she blushed a bright pink when she realized who had opened the door. Opening her mouth to speak, she quickly closed it again when no words managed to escape. Trying again, she only succeeded in repeating her previous attempt. Growing embarassed, she tried again and again, but none of her attempts were successful.

Ichika watched with some amusement at the green-haired woman's shy personality, but grew concerned when her face began to turn the brightest shade of pink he had ever seen. Panicking slightly, he spoke up, saying in a worried tone, "Um, Yamada-sensei. Are you alright?"

His words snapping her out of her stupor, she looked up at him in suprise before she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that," she said. "You just suprised me is all."

"No problem," Ichika replied "but, if you dont mind me asking, why are you here?"

Hearing his question, Maya's eyes widened and she suddenly pointed her finger in the air.

"Oh right!" She exclaimed "I was wondering if you would happen to know where Orimura-sensei is, she didnt come...in...today..."

Trailing off as she finally noticed the woman she was looking for in the background, the green-haired woman's eyes widened when they took note of something. Firstly, the mystery over why neither Ichika or Chifuyu had shown up for class was explained in a way that had the mousy woman's mind reeling. Her mind coming up with less than innocent theories on why her favorite pair of siblings had apparently spent the night together, Maya Yamada's face shifted into one of extreme amusement. Taking note of Chifuyu's untidy appearance and state of dress, Maya laughed perversely in her head with a self-satisfied smile on her face, and her tone conveyed just how amusing she found the situation when she said, "I see. My apologies, I didnt know I was intruding on a private moment."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Chifuyu's jaw dropped open at what had just been implied, before she sent the woman a harsh glare in response. Sadly for her, it only served to elevate her colleague's amusement even further. Deciding to take her leave, Maya bowed lowly at the waist before saying, "Pardon my intrusion. I hope you can forgive me."

Once she had finished speaking, she quickly turned heel and ran down the hallway, fast enough that neither brother nor sister had a chance to stop her.

Meanwhile, Ichika, having no idea what had just happened, scratched the side of his head confusedly while staring down the hallway his teacher had just disappeared down into. Voicing his thoughts, he spoke in a tone that conveyed his astonishment and said, "Um... okay?"

Turning to Chifuyu, he gave her an expectant look before saying, "Mind explaining to me what just happened?"

Although she was still majorly peeved at her fellow teacher, Chifuyu decided that there was no point in getting worked up over a woman who was no longer there. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Chifuyu directed her attention to her clueless little brother and said, "Dont mind her, she just has some undiagnosed mental problems."

Ichika let out an amused snort in response, but still curious, asked, "So why did she react like that when she saw you? It was like she was laughing at a joke that only you two are aware of."

Pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance, Chifuyu spoke in a slightly guarded tone while saying, "That woman just has strange ideas about the nature of our relationship."

The statement causing his brow to rise in intrique, Ichika found the little tidbit of information too interesting to ignore. Commenting on it, his voice conveyed his interest when he asked her, "Oh? How strange are we talking here?"

Chifuyu however, wasn't to keen on answering that question, so attempted to change the subject.

"It's nothing. Now, instead of worrying about her, we should worry about what we're gonna do now. We've already missed a quarter of the day, so it doesn't make much sense to go to class now. Any ideas?"

Ichika noted her avoidance of the question, but respected her lack of desire to answer it, as it had the potential to be an uncomfortable topic. So, he dropped it in favor of answering the question she had just presented him with.

"Wanna help me pack? After all, if we're moving in together, I gotta bring my stuff."

Chifuyu's eyes widened at the reminder of what they had agreed upon that morning, before her face broke out into a happy smile. Turning to Ichika, she nodded her head in acceptance to his question with far more exuberance than she had meant to show.

Ichika returned her smile in response, before saying "Great!". He meant to say more, but was interrupted when both of their stomachs let out simoultaneous growls. They both jumped in response to the funny sounding noise, before staring at eachother in bewilderment. Amused by the situation, Chifuyu couldnt stop the small giggles she let out in reaction to the sound, and Ichika found he couldn't help but to laugh too.

After a few moments of laughing, they both managed to calm down enough to speak. Looking up, Ichika favored her with another smile before asking, "Breakfast?"

Quickly nodding her agreement, as she would never pass up Ichika's cooking, Chifuyu decided that she should probably get cleaned up. Walking over to the bathroom door, she turned back to Ichika to say, "I'm gonna use your shower, okay?"

Ichika merely grunted his acceptance in response, because now that the idea of breakfast was in his mind, he was focused on searching through his cupboards for ingredients. Seeing that was all she was going to get out of him, Chifuyu turned around in order to open the door before stepping inside.

Now that she was inside, Chifuyu walked over to the sink in order to use the mirror to see how she looked. She felt a mild sense of embarassment when she saw how messed up her hair was, which was also compounded with the fact that both Houki and Maya had seen it. Regardless, it could be easily fixed, so she set about doing that.

Reaching down, she quickly pulled the tshirt she had borrowed over her head. Once that was done, she pushed down the sweatpants she wore until they had pooled at her feet. Stepping out of them, and left in her black lace bra and panties, Chifuyu once again began to inspect her appearance.

Starting at her hips, she trailed her hands up her body until they were just under her breasts. Giving them a light squeeze, she felt a measure of pride at just how big they actually were, and noted with some satisfaction that the only women she knew who rivaled hers were Maya's, and to a lesser extent, Houki's. Counting it as another advantage over the other girls with similar interests in her brother, Chifuyu reached behind her in order to undo the clasp that kept the article of clothing attached to her. Letting the bra fall away to join the rest of her clothing on the floor, Chifuyu didn't waste anymore time inspecting herself as she quickly pulled off her panties as well.

Now completely naked, she made her way over to the shower before turning it on. After waiting for it to heat up to a desirable temperature, she stepped inside before closing the curtain behind her. Finally within the shower, Chifuyu couldnt stop the satisfied groan she let out in response to the warm water cascading over her form. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back and let the water run through her hair in order to get it ready to clean. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squeezed some of its contents into her hand. Having done that, she rubbed it together with her other hand in order to work up up lather, before bringing her hands to her hair. Running her hands through it, she massaged the shampoo into her scalp. As she did so, she began to let her mind wander, as she often did when she took a shower.

Thinking over the events that had happened since she had been so rudely awakened, Chifuyu couldn't keep the frown off of her face when she thought about the little skirmish in the hallway. It always baffled her how all of Ichika's female friends thought it was okay to attack him when he upset them. Though she couldn't help but to feel bad as she had been guilty of it as well, though more often than not he had actually deserved it, and she had never attacked him with a freaking IS. Still, she supposed it probably had to do with Ichika's lack of resistance. He had never been one for fighting, so he probably just figured that it was better to just take the beating so it could be forgotten about instead of escalating it into a drawn-out conflict, just like what was happening now.

She couldn't help but to be proud of him however, as not only had he proved that he could grow a backbone if he wanted to, but he had also proven that he was more capable in combat than he let on. It made her wonder how strong he actually was, as it wasn't the first time he displayed a sudden increase in skill, such as the time he had defeated Laura when she was overcome by the Valkyrie Trace System in a single strike. And that was with the added handicap of not having access to his IS. The memory also served to fill Chifuyu with warmth, as she recalled the he had only done so on her behalf.

Still, she realized she was getting off track, so returning to the original topic, her frown returned as she recalled how Ichika had said that Houki was openly hostile from the get-go. While it was true that Ichika himself hadn't been much better, the fact that Houki had reacted to his pulling away with anger, had Chifuyu wondering if getting them to reconcile would be more difficult than she had previously anticipated.

Deciding it was something that required Ichika's input, Chifuyu shifted her focus on the other event that had happened. The memory causing her to grit her teeth, she decided she was really getting tired of her green-haired colleague's antics. The woman had always had an unnatural fixation on Chifuyu's relationship with her brother , and it seemed now that they were growing closer, her interest was only increasing.

That fact served to worry Chifuyu, because if she were to begin a relationship with Ichika, the risk of Maya finding out would likely be pretty high. Though Chifuyu did wonder if Maya finding out would be a bad thing. The woman didn't seem to be adverse to the idea of Chifuyu being with Ichika, and if anything, seemed to support it. Her reaction to finding the two of them together seemed to support this, as instead of disgust or revulsion, the woman had reacted with amusement, as if she had discovered a theory of hers had been proven correct.

Thinking on it, Chifuyu decided that if somewhere down the line the woman did indeed find out about the potential relationship, then she would question her on what her motives were, and if she proved to be a detriment, well lets just say Chifuyu has ways of ensuring someone's silence.

Nodding her agreement to the plan, Chifuyu decided to let her mind wander to whatever topic seemed interesting. After a while, she wasn't suprised when her libido took the reigns and her mind began to conjure up the perverted scenarios she had become used to.

Despite her desire to indulge in some much needed stress relief, she recognized that she wasn't in the privacy of her own shower. The last thing she needed was for Ichika to wonder what was taking her so long and come to investigate. Though a part of her did find the idea at least a little appealing.

Although tempting, Chifuyu decided that she wanted to do this right. She wanted him to know how much he meant to her, both as a sister, and as a woman. She wanted him to know her feelings, and though the thought hurt, she also wanted him to have the opportunity to reject her. Though now she held no doubts in her mind on how badly she wanted to be with him, she still recognized that a relationship between them could have far reaching consequences should it ever be discovered. She didn't want him to have to go through that, so if he rejected her, then she wouldn't argue.

With that though in mind, Chifuyu's face gained a determined edge as she decided that she would do everything in her power to make sure it didn't come to that. Now that she had taken the first big step in her quest to be with him, she would take full advantage of it to prove to Ichika her love for him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all, hollowflash here. Yep, I'm back after who knows how long. First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken me to continue this story, but I assure you, I actually do have a legitimate reason for it. Many things have happened between when I published chapter 4 and now, and each of them have caused me and my family to go through hard times that have left me with little time to write. Shortly after I posted chapter 4, it was decided that my family and I would move to the other side of the country. However, four days before we were supposed to leave, my nephew's deadbeat father who left my sister to care for her child by herself, went to court and ordered an emergency visitation lawsuit, effectively trapping my sister into staying. Since we were essentially moved out of our home, my family had little choice but to leave without her. Between moving and dealing with the courts, all of this has left me with no time at all to write, but fortunately things seem to be going in our favor as of late. Naturally, I took advantage of my new found free time, and now here is Chapter 5! I'd like to thank all of you who have stuck with me, and I'd like to once again apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out. Please understand that life can get in the way of our passions. I promise that I will stick with this story till the very end, but please don't be too dissapointed if chapter 6 ends up taking a while to come out, as it is likely beyond my control. Thank you- HeavenShockingHollowFlash**

Ichika hummed happily to himself as he worked, his mood a result of the past week spent with his sister. He couldn't recall a time when he had ever been as happy as he was now, and he was looking forward to what the future would hold for the two of them.

Taping yet another box, Ichika gave a quick glance to the door. Thinking about his sister, he wondered if life would be more like this now that he had agreed to move in with her. While it was true that they lived together outside of school, most of the time Chifuyu was never home. Her work schedule demanded too much of her time for them to spend any large amount of time together, so the most they saw of eachother was in the mornings or briefly in the afternoon. Now that he was to move in with her, the time they spent together would be largely increased. Her academy dorm was like a second home for Chifuyu, as she spent a lot of her time at the academy as part of her job. As a result, Chifuyu would often stay at the academy for days at a time, only coming home to check up on mail or to make sure that Ichika hadn't burnt the house down. With Ichika staying in her dorm, even if she was working, she would be doing so with him present.

Ichika was glad for that fact, as he always resented how little time she actually had to spend with him. Thinking back over the past week, he mused that it was like a small taste of what was to come. Still, he figured that there wasn't much point in thinking about it, so got back to work on packing his belongings.

Before long, he was mostly finished, just needing to pack a few more things until he was done. Ichika wondered what he was going to do now, and eventually decided to focus his thoughts on the week he had spent with his sister.

After that first night that she had stayed over, it was almost as if she never left. He was astonished to find her by his door after class everyday. She'd ask to come in, and he found that he could never tell her no. '_But then again_,' he thought, '_It's not like I wanted to._'

He had learned a lot about his sister that week, and he was pleased to say that they were closer than they ever had been before. Even with the problems he was having with his friends, he found that they were rarely on his mind when he was with Chifuyu. To him, it felt like he could forget about his worries and just have fun when they were together, and he was confident that it was the same for her. In his eyes, they weren't just siblings, they were friends. At this point, he'd even go so far as to say that she was his best friend. He'd never connected with anyone else on the same level as he did with his sister, and that made him cherish his newfound relationship with her even more.

Speaking of his sister, Ichika wondered what she had left in such a hurry for. After she had finished her shower, the two of them had eaten the breakfast that Ichika had prepared, before getting to work on packing. Chifuyu had helped him pack most of his stuff, but halfway through, had gotten a message from one of her fellow teachers. Something about a problem that required her presence. She had apologized for not being able to finish helping him, before quickly taking off. It wasn't long after that she had sent him a text saying that something had come up, and that she wouldn't be coming back till the next day.

Shrugging, Ichika decided that he would probably just ask her about it later. For now though, he would just have to finish packing, and wait for her return.

*********  
*_**Hours Later**_*

Ichika sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, his arms resting behind his head. Rolling over onto his side, and yawning tiredly, he once again attempted to get to sleep.

It was currently eleven thirty at night, and he was having trouble falling asleep. He had went to bed at around nine o' clock, and now here he was close to three hours later, no closer to falling asleep than when he began.

Despite all the excuses he had come up with while thinking about it, he was painfully aware of the very reason why he couldn't seem to get any sleep.

'_I miss her._' He finally admitted to himself, any claims to the contrary dying in the face of the evidence.

It had seemed that at some point during the week he had gotten to know his older sister, he had become used to her sleeping beside him. He supposed he shouldn't be suprised. After all, she had slept in his bed for the entirety of their time together. But, now that she was gone, it seemed that her absence just didn't sit right with him.

Despite that, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. She was most likely asleep in her own bed by now, and even if she wasnt, there was no way he was going to subject himself to the embarassment of calling her and asking her to come over.

Besides, he was a big boy now, he didn't need his sister to hold his hand until he fell asleep. That time had long since passed, and there was no reason to return to it. That was what he thought at least, but it still didn't stop the dull ache in his chest at the thought of not having her by his side.

Shifting once again, Ichika figured he would fall asleep eventually. In the meantime, he couldnt help but wonder what Chifuyu was doing right about now.

**_**Chifuyu**_**

Meanwhile, little did he know that Chifuyu was having a similar problem.

'_Uwaa, now I can't even sleep without him_.' Chifuyu thought, frowning in the darkness of her room.

To her, it felt strange to go without his warmth and comforting presence. It felt wrong to not be able to feel his arms wrapped securely around her as she slept, the feeling of being loved and protected painfully absent.

Despite having slept in this room by herself for years, it suddenly felt strangely foreign to her without _him_. Before, this room afforded her privacy and shelter, but now, it only served as a cold and lonely prison.

She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way. After all, it was just one night. Tomorrow, he would be moving in with her, and if things went where she wanted them to, she wouldn't have to feel this way ever again. So it should be fine right? She could handle one night on her own, right?

She tried to let that thought reassure her, but the moment she laid eyes on the dim green numbers of the digital clock on her nightstand, she knew that the answer to those questions was no.

'_11:30_' she read, and in that moment she knew she wouldn't last the night without Ichika. After all, if she was having trouble this early on, she knew that she would more than likely still be staring into the dark several hours from now.

Getting up with a sigh, she turned on the small lamp on her nightstand, before getting up and making her way to the door. It was here that she debated with herself on if she should go through with this, but eventually came to a decision when the pro's far outweighed the con's.

Amusing herself with thoughts of the look on his face when she showed up at his room, Chifuyu slipped on the small rabbit themed slippers she had recieved as a gift from Tabane, before turning off the lamp and opening the door.

Upon opening the door, Chifuyu had to spend a moment blinking away the dark spots the bright light of the hallway caused in her vision, but quickly made her way down the hall once she was finished.

As she turned the corner, Chifuyu found herself completely and utterly suprised when she nearly ran into the one woman that she definitely didn't want to see at this moment.

"Orimura-sensei?" Maya Yamada questioned, appearing to be just as suprised as she was.

Deciding to be polite, Chifuyu greeted her, "Hello, Yamada-sensei. I was just going to the cafeteria, as you appear to have done yourself."

Indeed, Maya held in her hands a small package of donuts, and what appeared to be a small paper cup filled with a steaming brown liquid that Chifuyu assumed was most likely coffee.

"I see." The younger woman replied, though Chifuyu could have sworn there was a hint of suspicion hidden in her voice. If there was, Yamada hid it well, as her face seamlessly shifted into a small smile and she said, "Well, please remember to refill the coffee pot if you end up taking the last of it."

With that, the woman walked past Chifuyu on her way to her room, but just when Chifuyu thought she was in the clear, the glasses-wearing woman stopped.

"Sleep well, Orimura-sensei." Her fellow teacher said, and Chifuyu couldnt help but think that there was a fair bit of knowing in her tone. Before she could say anything however, the green-haired woman had already left.

Chifuyu stood bewildered in the hallway, but eventually just shook her head and continued on her way.

If she would have looked back, she would've seen a door open just a crack, and a glasses covered pair of eyes watch her leave.

****  
***15 minutes later***

After trying and failing to try and get some sleep, Ichika had eventually given up. Currently, he was amusing himself with the various pictures he and Chifuyu had taken together over the past week.

He smiled at one particular sequence of pictures. The first was one he had took when she hadn't been looking. In the beginning, she had tried to keep up her frosty, no nonsense demeanor, but after being caught actually enjoying herself a few times, she had eventually gave it up and began to relax. This picture was just one of those instances were she had been caught. It was a picture of her with the happy smile that had slowly become a more common sight on her face. The next picture was her finally noticing what he was doing and flushing in embarassment, and the picture after that was of her affixing him with a glare that, while still intimidating, was cutely at odds with her crimson cheeks.

Laughing at the look on her face, Ichika was about to continue looking through his pictures, but was forced to stop when a knock was heard at his door. Startled as he was by it, the poor boy nearly fell off the bed. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself before that happened, and gave his door a confused stare.

His confusion stemmed from the fact that he couldn't think of anyone who would be visiting him right about now. He didn't think that it was any of the girls, as he doubted any one of them wanted anything to do with him right now, and, while it hadn't stopped any of them before, it was against the rules to wander the academy at night.

When another knock was heard, Ichika decided that he should probably see who it was. Making his way over, he hesitated a moment, but eventually pulled open the door.

"Nee-san?", he said, unable to believe that it was actually her.

Indeed, standing just a few feet away was his older sister. After a few moments of silence, Chifuyu managed to compose herself enough to give him a proper greeting.

"Hello, Ichika." She said with a small wave and a smile.

Getting over his suprise, Ichika returned both the greeting and the smile. "Hello, Chifuyu-nee."

They both lasped into silence after that, neither entirely sure on what to say to one another. Eventually though, Ichika decided to put a voice to the question that had been bothering him since the moment he had opened the door.

"Um," Ichika began. " Not that I dont like seeing you Chifuyu-nee, but I can't help but wonder why exactly you're here. I mean, it _is _almost midnight."

For her part, Chifuyu couldnt help but to blush at his line of questioning. Short of telling him the truth, she didn't exactly have a good explanation for her presence. Deciding to just tell him anyway, Chifuyu leaned on the door frame.

"Well, I would tell you, but before that, it's only polite to let your big sister in." She said teasingly.

Predictably, Ichika flushed in embarassment at her words. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, the poor boy stepped to the side to make room for her.

"R-right. Sorry."

Laughing behind her hand, Chifuyu put her arm over his shoulders, practically dragging him with her.

"Worry not, dear Otouto. Onee-chan will forgive you."

With that said, the two made their way over to Ichika's bed. Ichika took a seat on his own, while Chifuyu took the spare. Now facing eachother, the two lasped into silence, Chifuyu trying to figure out just how to explain her presence, and Ichika simply wondering why she had suddenly shown up.

Eventually, Ichika grew weary of the lack of conversation, so he opened his mouth to speak. However, he was interrupted when Chifuyu spoke first.

"Listen," she began, sounding strangely nervous. "You asked me why I came here didn't you?"

Wondering where she was going with this, Ichika nevertheless nodded. Seeing it, Chifuyu sighed as she gathered her nerves.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't laugh. It's embarrassing enough as it is."

Ichika rose an eyebrow at her request, but decided that if she was asking him that, then it must mean that what she had to say was important to her.

"Okay," Ichika said, giving her a reassuring smile. "I promise that I wont."

"You mean it? Because if you're lying..." Affixing him with a glare at an intensity that he hadnt seen from her in a long time, Chifuyu let the threat hang in the air. Despite himself, Ichika couldnt stop the shiver that ran throughout his body. Gulping nervously, the teen slowly nodded.

She glared at him a few seconds longer, causing Ichika to begin sweating, if only because he knew what horrors the threat implied. Eventually, she must've decided that he was telling the truth, as her glare faded and she began to relax.

"Good." She said, prompting a sigh of relief from the younger Orimura. Chifuyu was silent for a while longer, presumably to gather her thoughts, but eventually she began to speak.

"Well, it all started a few hours ago. I ate dinner, took a bath, and got ready for bed. However, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't seem to fall asleep." She said. Hearing this, Ichika's eyes widened.

'_Wait, she's not saying what I think she saying, is she_?' he thought, watching the myriad of emotions cross over his sister's face.

Looking down to hide her embarassment, Chifuyu continued.

"At first, I just thought that maybe I just wasn't tired, and if I let my self lay there I would eventually just doze off. Well, I tried that, and all it amounted to was staring at the ceiling for three hours." She laughed, pulling a chuckle out of Ichika aswell.

Looking at his laughing face, Chifuyu smiled. However, she wasn't finished, so looking back down as her smile faded, Ichika's elder sister continued.

"When it became apparent that nothing I tried would work, I started to think of all the reasons on why I just couldn't get to sleep. It took me a little while, but I eventually figured it out. Can you guess what it was?"

At this point, Ichika thought he had pretty good idea of what she was going to say. However, he wanted to hear it directly from her mouth. So, to that end, he shook his head in the negative. Chifuyu frowned briefly in response, inwardly dissapointed that he once again seemed to be oblivious to her feelings. Still, she figured there was no use in crying over spilled milk. If he couldn't figure it out for himself, then she would just have to spell it out for him.

Looking down at, but not really seeing, the floor, Chifuyu took a second to gather her nerves for what would assuredly be the hardest part. After several long seconds of silence, she looked back up into Ichika's face, a small, but noticeable glint in her eyes.

"The reason why I couldn't sleep, why I came all this way to see you, is because...because I...I missed you!" Chifuyu all but yelled, closing her eyes tightly as crimson exploded onto her face. She said it! It was probably the most embarassing thing she had ever done, but she said it! Maybe now he would be able to see that her love for him ran deeper than he thought.

However, after several seconds of silence, Chifuyu began to grow confused. Hadn't he heard her? Taking a chance, Ichika's older sister nervously brought her gaze in line with her little brother's face. What she saw simoultaneously embarassed and infuriated her.

There Ichika sat in the same place he had been since this conversation started. However, what made the elder Orimura so incensed was his face. Ichika sat across from her, holding his fist to his mouth as he struggled not to laugh. Unfortunately for him, the shocked look on her face proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Pffffft- Ahahaha!"

To the complete and utter shock of his sister, Ichika began laughing out loud, doubling over in the process. At first, Chifuyu's jaw dropped open at what she was witnessing. But once she got over her suprise, it was swiftly replaced by an unholy rage.

"Ichika!" She yelled, getting to her feet. Her face red with both embarassment and anger, the oldest sibling of the Orimura family quickly crossed the gap. Pulling him to his feet by the front of his shirt, Chifuyu glared angrily into Ichika's eyes. However, much to her consternation, instead of fear, he only seemed to laugh harder.

Reaching the end of her patience, Chifuyu drew her arm back as she prepared to deliver her rage in the form of a punch with no less than the force of an extinction event. It was at this point that Ichika realized he was in incredibly hot water. Eyes widening in no small amount of fear, he managed to call out "Wait!" just before his infuriated older sister ended his life.

Luckily for him, her fist stopped cold less than an inch from his face. Gulping nervously as he stared at the instrument of his doom, Ichika apprehensively took the opportunity to look at his sister's face. What he saw nearly broke his heart. Now that she had stopped, Chifuyu's rage had swiftly disappeared. Many different emotions took its place, but the first and foremost was sadness.

"Y-you promised." Chifuyu said, her voice cracking and her eyes beginning to water. It was at this point that she released him, letting her hands fall to her sides in balled up fists as she looked to the ground, struggling not to let the tears she felt coming fall. Realizing how badly he had messed up, Ichika swiftly wrapped his sister in a tight embrace. Despite how angry she was with him right now, Chifuyu allowed it to happen. She needed to feel the love and warmth he provided.

"I'm sorry Chifuyu-nee." Ichika said, sounding genuinely remorseful. "I didnt mean to hurt your feelings."

"Then why did you laugh at me?" Chifuyu shot back, looking up at him with unshed tears. "You promised me that you wouldnt, but you did it anyway."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't think it would make you this upset." Ichika replied, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "But please, give me a chance to explain myself okay?"

At this, Chifuyu looked up at him in slight suprise. Searching for any signs of deceit, any indication that he would trample on her feelings further, Chifuyu glared long and hard into her brother's eyes. It was after several tense moments that she finally nodded, unable to find a trace of anything that would indicate such a thing.

"Okay."

Ichika sighed in relief at this. He never expected his outburst would affect her this much. He must have really hurt her when he let his emotions get the better of him.

Sighing again, he silently vowed to never do such a thing again. He was still getting used to his improved relationship with her, and it was easy to forget that she wasn't the infallible superwoman that he had thought of her as for so long. Instead, he needed to be more aware of the fact that beneath her hard exterior was a girl with her own emotions, thoughts, and worries. It was only by chance that she had decided to make him aware that part of her existed, and here he was taking it for granted.

After what had happened with their parents, Chifuyu had locked away her emotions deep inside of her, and he was the only one she trusted enough to show them to. So, by breaching that trust, even on something as seemingly minor as this, it was no suprise that she reacted the way she did. She was taking a chance by trusting him with her heart, and he realized now that it was his duty to protect that trust. For now though, he would need to mend the wound he had just opened.

"Listen Chifuyu," Ichika started, grabbing her attention with the way he had dropped the affectionate suffix from her name. "It's true that I was laughing when I promised that I wouldn't. But you're mistaken."

"I wasn't laughing at you." He continued, causing her to look at him in suprise once again. "I was laughing because you and I are the same."

"What...what do you mean?" Chifuyu asked, confused by his words.

Ichika just smiled.

"I mean exactly that. The entire time I was listening to your story, I kept thinking how similar it was to my own."

"What are you trying to say?" Chifuyu asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. She couldn't be sure, but from what he was saying, he couldnt mean...no! That wasnt possible, was it?

Smiling wider, Ichika pulled her head into his chest as he deepened the embrace.

"What I'm trying to say, is that I missed you too." He said, pulling a gasp from Chifuyu's throat. "Ever since you left, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and it only got worse as the day went on. The entire reason why I'm even awake right now is because, just like you, I couldn't sleep without you here beside me."

Pulling back to look at her face, he chuckled at the dumbstruck look that was present there.

"R-really?" Chifuyu questioned, her voice wavering along with the emotions his words brought her.

"Really." Ichika replied with conviction, a loving smile accentuating his features. "You're important to me Chifuyu-nee, and I'd never lie to you on purpose. So please, can you forgive me?"

As he said this, Chifuyu looked down at the ground, her hair covering her eyes. Concerned he had said something wrong, Ichika opened his mouth to speak, but found himself completely suprised when he was roughly tackle-hugged by his older sister. Falling backwards, he thankfully hit the bed, but the height at which he fell combined with Chifuyu's weight falling on top of him forced a pained "oof!" from his lips as the wind was knocked out of him.

It took him a second to get some oxygen back in his lungs, but once he did, he slowly opened his eyes to reveal Chifuyu lying atop him. Her arms were wrapped securely around his neck, and her face was buried into the crook of his shoulder as she began to cry. Initially suprised, Ichika's face softened as he allowed his sister to vent her emotions. Wrapping his own arms around her, Ichika rubbed soothing circles into her back as he let her cry into his shoulder.

The two stayed like that for a long time, just two people who loved eachother, expressing their feelings the only way they knew how. But eventually, like all things, the moment came to an end. As Chifuyu's sobs devolved into small sniffles and quiet whimpers, she pulled back from the embrace to look into his eyes.

"I'm sorry for getting so upset with you Ichika." She said quietly. "It's just, what I said to you was really important to me, and when I saw you laughing I just...well, you saw what happened."

"You dont need to apologize to me Chifuyu-nee. I'm the one who broke our promise." Ichika replied. Sitting up so he was level with his sister, Ichika rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he said, "If I'm completely honest with myself, I probably deserved that punch you were going to hit me with."

Hearing that, Chifuyu couldnt prevent the smile from appearing on her face. Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed in contentment when Ichika responded to her by wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you Ichika." She said, happy that everything worked out in the end. To her amusement however, Ichika stiffened and blushed a bright red, still not used to hearing those words come from her.

"Geez, are you blushing? How cute." She said teasingly.

"Ch-Chifuyu-nee!" Ichika whined in complaint, blushing harder at her words.

"Oh lighten up. I'm just teasing." She chided, pulling a sigh from her little brother's lips. Shaking his head, Ichika decided to just let it go and enjoy the moment.

The two lasped into silence after that, content to just enjoy eachother's presence. Eventually however, Ichika took a glance at the clock, his eyes widening when he realized it was nearly two in the morning.

"Hey Nee-san?" Ichika said, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm?" Chifuyu replied, opening one eye to look at him.

"You know, I meant it when I said I couldn't sleep without you." He said seriously. Hearing that, Chifuyu's eyes shot wide open as her face turned a dark crimson.

"Wh-wh-what does that have to do with anything?!" She all but yelled, thoroughly embarassed.

Chuckling at her reaction, Ichika continued, "Well, it's getting pretty late. So, since you're already here, shall we sleep together?"

"Oh." Chifuyu said quietly, finally realizing what he was getting at. "I-If you don't mind, then I guess that's ok." She said with a blush.

"Great!" Ichika said, smiling brightly in response to her accepting his proposal.

Shaking her head in amusement at his exuberance, Chifuyu reluctantly pulled away from him. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she got to her feet, only to turn around and stare down at her brother.

"Would it be alright if I used your shower real quick?" Chifuyu asked. She had practically sprinted over to Ichika's room in her excitement, not to mention everything else that had happened. All in all, she was feeling rather sweaty, so a quick shower to get rid of all that excess moisture sounded pretty good right about now.

"Sure thing." Ichika replied, giving her a small smile. "Take as long as you need."

Returning his smile, Chifuyu nodded. "Thanks Otouto. I won't be long."

With that said, Chifuyu made her way over to the bathroom. Opening the door, and swiftly closing it behind her, Chifuyu leaned her back against it and slowly slid down till she reached the floor.

'_I need to tell him_.' She thought. '_I promised I would do this the right way, but he makes it so hard. I nearly kissed him when he said all those wonderful things about me._'

Getting back to her feet, Chifuyu got ready for her shower. As she let her clothes whisper down her skin to pool on the floor, she had one final thought just before she started the process of cleaning herself,

'_Soon, I'll tell him soon. I just hope he feels the same._'

***3 hours later***

Ichika yawned tiredly as he took another sip from his glass of water. For some strange reason, he had suddenly woken up. He knew he was still tired, if the constant yawns he was letting out were any indication, but for now he was content to sip on his drink while he watched the sleeping form of whom he could honestly say was the most important person in his life.

He smiled at that thought, still finding it hard to believe that she had essentially came all the way here just to sleep with him. Still, it had come as a pleasant surprise that she apparently felt the same as him on the matter of their sleeping arrangements.

Smiling at first, it eventually faded into a frown. The reason for that was because he was starting to grow concerned about the strange feelings he was getting the longer he stayed around his older sister.

It had started out small, little things like feeling heat come to his face for no other reason than she was near. Or the strange twisty feeling in the pit of his stomach when she would hold him close. A part of him knew what those feelings meant, but the rest of him couldnt bring itself to acknowledge them. Sighing, Ichika wondered why things had to get so complicated. Why couldn't he just enjoy the relationship between them without strange and confusing feelings getting in the way?

"Mhmm. Ichika?"

Snapped out of his reverie by the feminine voice of his sister, Ichika looked up to see that Chifuyu was awake. She rubbed her eyes before looking around, apparently searching for something. Ichika guessed he was that something, as the moment she spotted him, she frowned, before flopping backwards onto the bed.

"Ichika~ Come back to bed." She whined sleepily, before letting out a tired yawn a second later.

"Yeah, yeah." Ichika mumbled, downing the rest of his drink in one go. Making his way over to the bed, he got in next to his sister. He was slightly suprised however, when she scooted closer and wrapped an arm over his chest, as if to prevent him from getting up again. Smiling at the gesture, Ichika returned it, his smile growing wider when Chifuyu let out a contented sigh in response.

As the two got ready for bed, Ichika's last concious thought was that Chifuyu sure made it hard not to fall for her... '_Damn it_.'

***The next day***

"Are you nervous?" Chifuyu asked, noticing the conflicting feelings on Ichika's face. His head shot up in suprise, and he looked at her with wide eyes. Seeing nothing but concern within her eyes, Ichika sighed.

They were currently standing just outside Chifuyu's dorm. Several boxes lay at their feet, each filled with Ichika's belongings. Today was the day that they would be moving in together, and now that they were here, Ichika was suddenly struck by a fit of nerves.

"It's that obvious huh?" He asked, looking down at his feet.

"Listen, if you're having seconds thoughts, I completely understand. If you're not ready for this, I won't get upset if you back out now." Chifuyu said, placing her hand on his shoulder. She was lying of course, she absolutely would be upset if he changed his mind, but she would put up with it for Ichika's sake.

Their relationship had come a long way from the days where they were practically strangers, but she couldn't be completely sure that Ichika was comfortable enough to take this new step in their relationship with her. For all she knew, his agreement to her proposal could have just been brought upon by the raw feelings of that moment.

Her fears were put to rest however, with his next course of action.

His head shooting up once again in suprise, he shook his head vehemently. "What? No!" He exclaimed. "That's not it at all Chifuyu-nee."

Sighing, he looked back down at his feet. "You're right, I am nervous. But that's just because this is a big change, and change is scary for everyone."

Looking back into her eyes, he smiled. "But more than that, if I feel anything at all, I'd say that I'm happy." He said, suprising his sister.

"Wha-What do you mean?" Chifuyu asked, perplexed by his statement.

"Well," he began. "I guess I'm just happy because of what this represents. This is a new start for us, to start over." He explained with a smile.

"Really?" Chifuyu asked. She didn't know he had put that much thought into this.

"Yeah." Ichika replied. "It's sad to say, but before all of this, our relationship wasn't much of one." He said, smiling sadly.

His words causing her to frown, it was Chifuyu's turn to stare at her feet.

"I'm sorry." She said regretfully, feeling guilty over her failings as a sister.

Not liking her reaction to his words, Ichika suprised his sister by pulling her to him. She stiffened in suprise at the unexpected contact, but eventually relaxed when she realized what he was doing. Smiling when she returned the embrace, Ichika comforted her.

"It's okay Chifuyu-nee, I forgive you." He said, causing Chifuyu's eyes to widen in suprise. Pulling back to look her in the eyes, he chuckled at the look on her face.

"It's true that I wasn't too happy about it when I was younger, but I understand now why you couldn't always be there for me." He said, smiling brightly at her increasing shock. Chuckling, he said "If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I can't imagine how hard it must have been on you. To be a child yourself, yet having to take care of a brat like me."

For her part, Chifuyu felt her eyes begin to grow moist in the face of Ichika's words. She had been dreading this topic for a long time. She had expected him to be angry with her, she had expected him to be upset, maybe even hate her. She had been prepared to recieve whatever negative emotions he could throw at her, but once again he had defied her expectations.

Instead of anger, he had offered forgiveness. Instead of hatred, he had offered understanding. It all proved to be too much for the older woman. Before she knew it, she was openly crying into his shoulder.

Suprised at first, Ichika supposed he shouldn't be. This had probably been riding on her conscience for a long time. It was only natural that she would be emotional.

His expression softening, Ichika offered his support. Hugging her tighter, he used one hand to massage her back, offering his love to his most precious person.

"It's okay Chifuyu-nee." He said, a small smile on his face as he continued to comfort her. "Let it all out."

They stood like that for a long time, Ichika comforting his overwhelmed sister, and Chifuyu pouring her heart out to the only man she had ever loved.

Eventually, the tide of tears began to wane, and soon enough, her sobs devolved into small sniffles and quiet whimpers. Pulling back just enough to wipe away the tears staining her face, Chifuyu used one hand to set about her task. Her other arm however, was still firmly wrapped around Ichika. She wouldn't be letting him go anytime soon, especially not after that.

Once she was sure her face was mostly free of tears, Chifuyu returned to the embrace, laying her head on his chest. Neither said a thing, merely content to rock back and forth with their loved one in their arms. Ichika's eyes were closed as he held his sister, his chin resting on the top of her head as he smiled.

He opened his eyes when Chifuyu mumbled something inaudible against his chest. Reluctantly, he pulled back from the embrace to look at her face as he said, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said thank you." Chifuyu replied, quick to return to the embrace that they shared. "I was always afraid that when we finally talked about it, you would reveal your true feelings; that you thought I was a terrible sister, and that...that you actually hated me." She admitted, and Ichika was suprised by the amount of anguish he could detect in her voice.

"Baka Nee-chan, I could never hate you." Ichika said resolutely, once again suprising his sister. Supressing a chuckle at the look on her face, Ichika nodded.

"It's true. Like I said, I forgive you. So please stop beating yourself up over it. I don't like to see you sad Chifuyu-nee." Ichika said worriedly.

Once again, Chifuyu felt her eyes begin to water. Wiping away a tear that escaped, Chifuyu smiled up at him.

"Ichika, I love you." She said. Still not used to her saying that, Ichika stiffened in slight suprise, but eventually relaxed a moment later.

"I love you too Nee-chan." Ichika replied with a smile.

As they continued to embrace eachother, Ichika suddenly chuckled.

"Geez Nee-san, who knew the great "Orimura-sensei" could be such a crybaby?" He teased, causing his elder sister to stiffen.

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is actually the older one." Ichika continued, prompting Chifuyu to glare up at him with a prominent blush.

"I'll "Orimura-sensei" you, you Baka!" Chifuyu shouted indignantly. "It's your fault for saying all those nice things, so take some responsibility would you."

Laughing at her words, Ichika nodded.

"Fine, fine. I'll take responsibility." He said, putting his hands up in a placating manner.

"Hmph! That's the least I would expect. "Chifuyu said, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms under her bust. She was silent after that, causing Ichika to grow slightly worried.

"Ah come on Nee-san, don't be like that." Ichika said, "I was only teasing."

Letting out a sigh, Chifuyu opened one eye.

"Fine, I'll forgive you. But in exchange, you have to do whatever I say." She said matter of factly.

Sweatdropping, Ichika protested, "What? That seems a pretty harsh for a harmless little joke."

"Tough." Chifuyu replied, opening both eyes to glare at him. "If you want me to forgive you, then that's the only way. No amount of whining will change my mind."

Scratching his head, Ichika sighed.

"Alright, alright. If it means that you'll forgive me, then I'll do it." He said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Good," Chifuyu said, a small smirk visible on her face.

"So, what exactly is it that you want me to do?" Ichika asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Not telling~." Chifuyu replied, pulling down her eyelid and sticking her tongue out at him.

Throwing his hands up, Ichika shook his head in exasperation, "Alright, I give up. First, you demand I do whatever you say, and now you won't even tell me what it is? Girls are confusing."

Chifuyu just smiled. "As long as you understand that much."

"Well, welcome to my home away from home." Chifuyu said as she pushed opened the door, allowing Ichika to see what her room looked like.

At first glance, the overall layout wasn't that much different than a student's. There was a door nearby the entrance that Ichika assumed was the shower, and beyond that was the kitchen area, though Ichika did note that a teacher's kitchen was much, much better equipped than a students. Beyond that lay the bedroom, though the key difference was that rather than two beds laying side by side, there was instead a singular bed, much larger than both student's beds put together. In addition, replacing the two computers featured in a student's dorm, was instead a large flat screen T.V. mounted on the wall with two shelves on either side of it, letting Ichika know that his sister had quite the collection of movies.

Letting out a low whistle, Ichika turned to his sister, obvious suprise apparent in his features.

"So what do you think?" Chifuyu asked, wanting to know if her dorm was to her new roommate's liking.

"Wow Nee-chan, I always thought you guys just got the same as us. I never expected something like this." Ichika answered. "This is incredible."

Pleased with his reaction, Chifuyu giggled behind her hand.

"Yes, I suppose it serves it's purpose rather well."

"No kidding." Ichika deadpanned, pulling another laugh from his sister.

"Well, think about it." Chifuyu replied, "We're tasked with teaching teenage girls how to pilot multi-million dollar exo-skeletons. They pay a LOT of money to make us as comfortable as possible."

"I guess that makes sense." Ichika said, able to see the logic in her reasoning.

"I do have one question though." Ichika said, causing Chifuyu to raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh? And what's that?" Chifuyu asked.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Ichika replied, causing his sister's mouth to drop open slightly in suprise.

She recovered quickly however, answering with a smile, "With me of course."

"A-are you sure?" Ichika asked, suddenly feeling bashful at the idea of sharing a bed with his sister. "I mean, I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

To his suprise however, Chifuyu strode forward to place a hand on his cheek, sending small shivers down his spine.

"Ichika," she began, "It's sweet that you're concerned for me, but last night should've told you how I feel about that. Listen, and listen well. There is no one, I repeat, no one who I'd rather share my bed with. Ok?"

"O-ok." Ichika replied dumbly. "If you don't mind."

Smiling, Chifuyu gave his cheek a light pinch.

"Good." She said, "Besides, you didn't think I was going to make you sleep on the floor, did you?"

Shaking his head, Ichika replied, "No, I guess not."

"So it's settled." Chifuyu said happily. "Now, shall we get to work?


End file.
